Love Can Be Found Anywhere, Even In Hell
by angelofdarkness78
Summary: Max didn't try to escape after the raid. After a run in with a certain X5, she finds her world turned upside down. A fierce competition is strung between them, but under all the spiteful comments, lies a vulnerable heart. MA Ch. 29 rated M
1. Temper Tantrums

Disclaimer: If I was a mega rich person who owned Dark Angel, I sure as hell wouldn't be here writing for you. LOL jk guys. You know I love you.

Summary: When Max is recaptured after the raid on Manticore, she doesn't try to escape for reasons that will later be explained. As she bides her time and adjusts to the routines at Manticore, being an outcast among the others makes her train harder to become stronger, and she slowly moves her way into the position of being one of the top soldiers. After a run-in with a certain X5, she finds her world turned upside down. A fierce competition is strung between them, and even as both make spiteful comments and do antagonizing things to each other, they somehow draw closer, unveiling secrets and pain that the other has never thought they would see in another person other than themselves. MA

A/N: I hope you like it. This is my first real MA fic, my other was a one-shot. So I would really appreciate it if you'd review and tell me what you think about it. :) Happy reading!

* * *

Max walked the halls of her both new and old prison to her next class, taking her time, thinking about everything that had happened recently.

_Her right ventricle's collapsed, she's gone._

_Bring her back!_

_Fight them Maxie, promise me you'll fight them._

_X5-599, I have a heart for you._

_A gunshot._

_He was quite a man, your brother Zack._

_He must've loved you very much._

_Fight them Maxie, fight them. Fight them. Fight them. Fight them._

Those words echoed in her mind. She wouldn't fail her deceased brother. He had sacrificed his life for her, wanted her to fight them, to not let them win, and she would be dammed if she didn't fulfill his wishes.

_I'll fight them Zack, I promise,_ Max thought. _I'll do it for you, and for Eva, Jack, Ben and Tinga. I just won't do it the way you probably thought I would. You and Tinga fought hard against Manticore, and I will too, just in a different way. I'll do it more subtly, so when I hit them, they'll never see it coming. I won't try to escape, not without the others here. I know they probably hate me because I'm an '09er, but I'll show them what freedom is really like. I'll finish the mission, one way or the other. I'll do it for you, brother, and for all the others._

She came to a stop outside her class and took a deep breath. She knew what was coming. The glares, the look of hatred and distrust in everyone's eyes. They never spoke to her unless their comments were degrading, but she didn't really mind. She was a survivor, and although she'd like some friends in this hell hole, she could do just fine without them.

She walked in, and everything that she had been predicting happened. They watched as she made her way over to an empty seat, all the way across the room from where everybody else was sitting. She hadn't been put in a unit yet, so most of the faces she saw were unfamiliar, but then again she hadn't really had time to observe them because she had only recently come out of Psy Ops.

She ignored the looks they gave her and kept her eyes front, directly on the teacher, not uttering a sound. She may as well catch up on some of the training she had missed out on for the past ten years, it could come in handy.

She listened attentively as the teacher at the front of the class explained different methods on what to do when you were stuck in a situation and had no clue what move to make next. She had seen him stare at her strangely several times, but she focused on what he was saying and ignored what he was doing. She knew why he was looking at her that way. He was surprised that finally someone, an '09er no less, was paying such undivided attention at what he was saying.

She resisted a smirk. This was new and different, actually listening to people, but it was surprisingly fun because of their reactions. She settled in more comfortably in her seat and the hour and a half passed quickly.

* * *

Max stood in line, waiting patiently for the old lady to slop what was supposed to be her lunch onto her tray. She wasn't very hungry, but she knew she would eat as much as she could anyway because no one could ever know when the trainers would have a shitty day and take their anger out on them by working them over double.

She took her tray once it was filled, nodded her thanks to the old woman, and made her way over to where she had been eating her lunch the past week or so. Much to her chagrin, three X5s from her tactics class made their way over to where she was sitting and sat down.

She didn't look at them; she just kept eating, waiting for them to leave.

"So, what's with you being little miss perfect in class?" one asked. "You running for Teacher's Pet award or something, 452?"

Max bit her tongue down hard, trying to keep her temper in check and not let her words fly. She had a very good idea on telling him where to shove it, but she knew that would just make more trouble for her, so she kept quiet and kept on eating.

"What, so you're an automaton now? Can't speak?" another taunted. "Psy Ops must've done a real number on you. Looks like they damaged your already damaged brain."

"Too bad," the third one said. "It's such a waste of R & D."

Okay, who did these guys think they were?

Max couldn't help it, she had to get it out or she would implode.

"Were your test tubes filled with jackass, or does that just come naturally?" she snapped. "You know what? I don't even care. I just want you three to get your stupid, cocky faces out of mine or I will mess you guys up so much, you'll find your pictures beside unrecognizable in the dictionary."

The three X5s were so stunned at the fact that she was speaking, let alone dissing them, that they hadn't reacted for a moment. The whole cafeteria had gone silent at her outburst, watching intently to see what would happen next.

Max stood with her hands on her hips, getting up in anger, her eyes blazing, waiting for what the three males were going to do.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" one of them asked. "You actually think you could take us on? You, a wimpy '09er, who found it a little too hard so she had to run away? I can't believe this crap."

She had had it. She could no longer be responsible for her actions.

Without warning, Max had flipped over to the other side of the table where they were sitting, and before any of them could react, she landed a swift uppercut to one's jaw, punched the other in the stomach, and punched the last one in the face, breaking his nose with a distinct crack. Blood sprayed everywhere and all of a sudden they were a jumble of 16 limbs, moving too fast for anyone to see what was going on.

After watching for a moment, people realized what was happening and sprung into action. Xs scattered in every direction, some running to separate the 4 X5s, others running for Renfro or a trainer.

"Get your hands off of me," Max snarled, trying to jerk free from someone who was holding her arms tightly behind her back. "Leave me the hell alone."

"Easy there," he said. "Calm down."

"Like hell I'm gonna calm down," she yelled, still trying to break free. "Let me go!"

She tried a new tactic and stopped struggling. Her captor loosened his grip, thinking that she had given up.

Big mistake.

She grabbed his arm and flipped him over her head, turning away as soon as she let go of him, but a vice-like grip held her arm. Her head snapped back to the X5 she had thrown over her head without looking, and her eyes locked with a pair of hazel ones. She paled.

"That wasn't very nice," he said.

* * *

494 was tired. He had just come back from a long-term mission in Boston, and was looking to eat and have some much needed rest. As soon as he sat down, his buddy 510 told him about their resident '09er who had tried to take out the DNA lab with her rugrat brothers and sister. He was quite surprised that they would have the balls to come back here, but he didn't think too much about it then. He was tired, all he wanted to do all day was sleep, but just his luck, 452 had to get into a fight with 3 other X5s.

He was quite surprised when he saw her face. Although all of the X series were supposed to be made beautiful, he had to admit that she was stunning. With chocolate orbs that spat fire, curly dark locks (A/N: I thought her hair looked better first season), pouty lips and exotic features, she still stood out among the crowd of beautiful transgenics.

_Then again, that may just be because she has more personality than any of them. Even I have to admit that half the soldiers here are bland._

He had watched her fight with the others for a moment. She was good, there was no doubting that, but the others were better. She was much farther behind in her training than them and soon, if someone didn't intervene, she would be chopped liver.

He sprung into action, immediately grabbing the angry female's arms, and she thrashed angrily. He was surprised at her strength; she was stronger than he had anticipated this small woman would be.

He cursed to himself as he fell for her trick and she flipped him over her head, but ignoring the pain in his back from landing badly, he grabbed her arm and watched her reaction. She had paled slightly and he frowned.

"B-Ben?" she stuttered in a small whisper.

Everyone in the room stopped to listen to what she was saying.

494's eyebrows knit together.

"Who's that?" he asked. "My designation's 494."

Max's eyes went wide. _494. Not 493. But I'm still looking into Ben's face._

Confused and angry, she glared at all the faces watching and stormed out of the cafeteria.

* * *

A/N: So, how was that? I wanted to go on longer, but I'm sorry. My arm is hurting like hell from typing so much lately. I hope you liked it. Please review and tell me what you thought because as I said, this is my first real MA fic. I've done a few MZs that you might want to look at, and I also have a cute, short little MA one-shot. You might also want to take a look at my Fairy Tales series. They're funny, I promise.

Okay, so please review everyone and tell me what you think. Should I go on? Is this any good? Feedback appreciated. –aod78


	2. Tempered Thoughts

A/N: Hope you guys like this chapter. I'll try to update as fast as I can but it's a little hard because you guys review so fast. But I'm not complaining! LOL Plz keep reviewing, I'd love to hear your thoughts about this story. Happy reading!

* * *

Renfro sat at her desk in her office, tapping a pen lightly on her desk. Her brow furrowed as she read something, and she leaned back in her chair as she read and re-read it to make sure it wasn't a mistake. 

But it wasn't. She leaned forward again as she perused the paper in front of her. It was a DNA workup of one of the X5s. One of the '09ers, and to be more specific, 452. Renfro's eyes moved all across the page, reading bits and pieces here and there.

"She has no junk in her," Renfro muttered.

She looked up quickly when she heard her door start to open and put the paper back into the folder it came from, shoving it into her desk just as a trainer walked in.

She recognized him as the one who taught tactics. Tall and lanky, with thick black glasses on his face, he resembled the basic nerd. He was very intelligent and was good at thinking outside the box, thus making him the tactics trainer.

"Trainer Wilkins," she greeted. "Come to tell me how 452 is being?"

Ever since 452 had started taking her classes, Renfro had asked that each trainer observe her and report to back to herself with news on her behaviour. She had anticipated that the rogue would be trouble and wouldn't co-operate, so she was pleasantly surprised when Trainer Wilkins told her it wasn't so.

"She's behaving wonderfully in class," he said. "Actually, she never utters a word and just listens attentively. I've never seen someone so focused on what I was saying. I'm surprised that she has been no trouble, considering her background and the information you gave all of us on her."

Renfro frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe we've actually lucked out and she's turned a corner. Maybe the fact that she lost her brother has given her no will to fight back."

"She could just be pretending," Wilkins said, "but you never know. She actually looked genuinely interested in what I was saying."

"Either that or she think you're attractive," Renfro said. "Which I really don't believe is the case."

Trainer Wilkins looked down at his shoes.

Renfro crossed her legs. "If this good behaviour keeps up, I'm considering putting her in a unit. But until then, I want her to catch up on her training."

Trainer Wilkins nodded his head. "Yes, ma'am."

"Maybe she won't be as much trouble as I tho – " Renfro started to say but was cut off as an X5 ran into her office.

"Ma'am," he panted. "There's a fight going on in the cafeteria."

"A fight?" Renfro asked. "Invoked by whom?"

"452, ma'am," he answered.

Renfro put a hand to her forehead. "Maybe I spoke too soon."

* * *

Max was huddled up in a corner of her bunk, shaking from anger or something else, she didn't know. All she could think about were those hazel eyes. 

_That was Ben's face,_ she thought. _Ben's eyes. All of Ben's features, except for the fact that he's not Ben._

Not Ben.

Those two words wouldn't leave her mind. At first she had been so happy to see who she thought was her brother, so happy that he was alive and well, happy that she'd finally be with someone who loved her and knew her and cared for her like no one else in her prison. But dread quickly replaced her happiness as she remembered why he would've been here in the first place. She had killed him, and even though he had asked her to do it, she didn't know how he would react to the fact that she had actually complied, killed him then left him there for Manticore to take his body away. But as soon as the man with the same hazel eyes as her brother said those three words, a bunch of other feelings rushed towards her.

_My designation's 494._

One number difference. Just one. A 4 where there should have been a 3. And suddenly both happiness and dread were gone. It was replaced by anger, confusion, and maybe even a little bit of hatred. This man was alive while her brother was not. And she resented him for that. It should have been her brother there, her brother standing in front of her. Even though they had barely spoken, she started to hate him. She hated him for being alive. After all, why should he get to when Ben couldn't? She knew she was being irrational, but she couldn't stop what she was feeling. She was confused, angry, and most of all hurt, both mentally and physically, so she did the only thing that made sense, the only thing she knew how to do.

She ran.

She ran straight to her cell where she could attempt at figuring things out in privacy. She tried to calm herself down and closed her eyes to get rid of the negative energy she had inside her. If she was going to figure things out, she needed to have her head clear of thoughts.

She should have known it wasn't Ben. She should've known the moment she saw the 494's eyes. They were the exact same shape and colour, but the feelings hiding behind them were polar opposites. Ben's eyes had been haunted, but not scared. He was too far gone to be scared. He believed everything was going to be alright because the Blue Lady would take care of him, so he had no reason to be scared. But this man's eyes, 494's eyes, were different. They showed intelligence beyond his years, but then again all of them had that. What struck her most was the sparkle in them. As soon as she looked into them she could tell he was going to be trouble. They showed mischief and lightheartedness. It wasn't like looking into Ben's and being frightened. For some reason she found his eyes comforting. That was it. They comforted her. But the fact that they comforted her served to confuse her more, and gave her another reason for her intense dislike of the guy. Ben's eyes used to be like that when they were kids. It pained her that Ben's had changed and 494's had not. That 494 was like Ben in every way except for one.

He wasn't her beloved brother.

She looked at the door and cocked her head to the side for a moment, listening intently. She heard thundering footsteps coming down the hall.

_This is it,_ she thought. _I should have kept my mouth shut. I should have kept my temper under control. _

Her cell door flung open and Renfro stood there, looking pissed off as usual.

"452!" she barked. "What is the meaning of this? Why did you start a fight in the cafeteria?"

Max's mouth dropped open and it took her a second to find her voice. "Me?" she said. "I didn't start the fight. The other three did! They provoked me!"

"Provoked or not, you should not have acted as you did!" Renfro said, her voice raising a pitch. "Because of you, the three X5s have several broken bones, and have to be put out of commission for 2 days until they heal! Because of you, 3 valuable soldiers are in Med Bay!"

Max had a small, satisfied smile as she heard this, but struggled to get it off her face before Renfro noticed. _At least those assholes didn't get away with trouble unharmed. They started it, but even if Renfro doesn't believe me, at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that those jerks are in Med Bay. Max: 1, Manticore: 0._

Unfortunately, Renfro saw the smile Max was sporting.

"Wipe that smile off your face, 452!" she yelled. "This isn't a laughing matter. And for your impulsive actions, you'll spend a week in the pit. Believe me, that smile will soon be long gone."

Max's smile dropped from her face. A week? After she had just spent months in Psy Ops and reindocrination?

Max's face was grim as she was walked to the pit by the guards and thrown into it.

"Well," she muttered, "better start working on that temper."

* * *

494 lay on his back on his bunk, wanting to go to sleep but unable to. He was exhausted, but something was keeping him awake. 

Well, not something exactly. More like someone. _Her._ 452.

He had no idea why he was thinking about the '09er late at night when he should be getting some rest for the next day. But for some reason her face kept popping into his mind, her words as well.

Her face had paled when she had seen him. Then she whispered something that he didn't understand.

"_Ben,"_ the raven haired beauty had said. He had frowned, not understanding. Why was she calling him that?

When he had told her his designation, he had watched a flurry of emotions flitting around in her eyes. So many different feelings, rushing around at once. He had seen pain, confusion, sadness, disappointment and most of all anger in her eyes. He had been shocked because it seemed these sentiments were directed at him, especially her anger. Then with a blink, everything he had witnessed was gone, and she had fled.

_Figures,_ he thought. _When something bad happens, what do these '09ers do? Run._

494 frowned when he realized he had just spent over an hour of his precious sleeping time thinking about someone he was supposed to be thinking of as a traitor. He shook his head, not wanting to speculate about why 452 wasn't leaving his mind, and concentrated on getting to sleep. Unfortunately for him, his dreams were filled with a certain brown eyed angel.

* * *

A/N: So, did you like it? Tell me what you think. Plz, I crave reviews and feedback. I would like to know what I'm doing that you like, don't like, and what you would like to see in the future. Plz tell me your thoughts. Review/Feedback plz! 

Enormous thanks to –

HoneyX5-452 – Thanks!

mel11 – Thanks!

messymissy – Thanks! BTW, are you ever gonna continue Max's Given Alias, or are you going to stop? Because I'm mostly an MZ shipper, and I've read the original and loved it! Plz update, but since you're an MZ shipper turned MA, and no longer want to continue, I understand. Thanks for reviewing!

Cora – Thanks! No, don't worry, this isn't a one-shot.

shygirl1 – Thanks!

lil – Thanks! I'm glad you like my summary; I tried hard to make it sound good. LOL I'll get to the MA interaction in a little while, I just want to set everything and stuff first.

Aur – Thanks!

Kelzaa – Thanks! I read your profile and it said you also like MZ. Just to let you know, I've got two MZs going, Whose Love and Together We'll Fight. If you find the time, drop by and give them a read!

pixie-ray – Thanks!

lex2u – Thanks! I'm honoured that my fic is the first DA fic you've read. If you're interested, I have another fic, Together We'll Fight, which is MZ, but it's a crossover between Roswell, DA, and BTVS. There isn't much Roswell in it, but the characters are there. You might find it interesting. Alec, btw, is paired with Faith, from BTVS.

w1cked angel – Thanks! LOL I updated because I didn't want you to die. Hope you miraculously recovered now that I've updated. LOL

Alana84 - Thanks!

Thanks everyone! Plz review and give me your opinions on things! –aod78


	3. X5839, aka Mina

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate it. Please keep doing so and give me feedback. Thanks!

* * *

Max lay in the pit, dirty and tired, her stomach growling in hunger. It had been 4 days since she had been thrown into the pit and so far her attempts at controlling her anger hadn't been very successful. Every time she calmed herself down she just got angrier for a different reason, whether it was anger at Renfro for being a sadistic bitch, anger at herself for not being able to control her emotions, or anger at that X5, 494, for being alive.

Max had forced herself not to think about 494 but her efforts had been futile. Every time it seemed she had triumphed and stopped thinking about him, his face and his hazel eyes would just pop back into her head, and the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about him infuriated her.

_What the hell does he have over me anyway?_ she thought, fuming at herself. _He's just a stupid X5 who happens to be identical to Ben. _

Max was at loss as to the reason why she couldn't stop thinking about him, or more specifically, his eyes. Disgusted at herself for being so weak, for not being able to even shut him out of her thoughts, Max decided that she would do something else. She thought about him, just not in the pleasant way.

She sat with her back slumped against the dirty wall, thinking of ways to torment 494, to annoy him, to hurt him, not physically exactly, but emotionally. She had no idea why she was feeling this way, why she had an unstoppable urge to hurt 494. She had never felt like this before towards another person, never needed to know that someone else's feelings or pride was hurt. It was strange to her that although she didn't know 494 at all for she had barely spoken to him and what they had said to each other was not under pleasant circumstances, she hated him. She hated him very much, but the reason she did not know. She didn't even know the guy, and she hated him! She thought she was being ridiculous because she didn't know how these emotions could come out of nowhere, but they were there. And as she sat there and continued to think bad thoughts about 494, it never occurred to her that maybe something inside her recognized something in 494 that was like her, something that she possessed herself. It never occurred to her that maybe because there was a likeness between them, it confused her. And maybe, just maybe, that confusion made her lash out in anger.

* * *

A beautiful girl with flowing blond hair stood to attention with her eyes front during roll call, but her thoughts were really elsewhere. She had just come back from a mission in Florida, where she had had to pose as a schoolteacher in order to get close to the son of the family she had to get information from. The result was that she had to eliminate the whole family, the father, mother, and little boy himself. Pushing the guilt aside, she had done it and returned to Manticore. After all, she was a soldier. It was her job; to follow orders and carry them out without a moment's hesitation. But now, back at Manticore, she couldn't help the guilt that rushed at her like a tidal wave. She still remembered the little boy's face as she shot his mother and father straight through the heart, one clean shot for each. And she still remembered the look of horror in his eyes as she pulled the trigger on him.

A whole entire family, destroyed by her. X5-839.

"X5-839!" Trainer Hilt shouted. "X5-494! On the mat!"

As she heard her designation being called, she stepped onto the mat and faced 494. He grinned at her and she narrowed her eyes in distaste. Many of the female X5s lusted after him, finding him extremely attractive and many desired him as their mate. X5-839, however, found him cocky and annoying. He was always so sure of himself and she hated that. She grinned back at him, but not for the reasons he thought. She needed to let loose a little after her mission and who better than to lash out at, than 494.

At Trainer Hilt's whistle, they dropped into their fighting stances, and neither moved. 839 was feeling restless so she broke the staring contest and lunged at him, punching him hard twice in the stomach before he could react. She caught the surprised look on his face and smiled to herself as 494's eyes narrowed as he concentrated more. They threw many kicks and punches at each other in lightning fast speed, but both managed to evade most of them.

Finally, when 494 realized this wasn't going anywhere, he decided to try a different tactic. After all, Trainer Wilkin had said that when you couldn't attack physically, try psychologically.

"So, 839, how was your mission down at Florida?" he asked, dodging an uppercut she swung at his neck.

All of a sudden, she stopped her attack. She clenched her fists in anger and stood there shaking, then with a cry she attacked him. 494 wasn't ready for her almost animalistic attack and he went under as she jumped on him and pushed him to the ground. He tried to get a few blows in but she was on top of him delivering hard hits and he just couldn't. It was as if she had lost complete control, reminding him of the time about 5 days ago when the '09er 452 had gone completely berserk in the cafeteria. It was funny how at a time like this, when someone was currently beating the hell out of him, he was thinking about the spitfire who had called him a strange name.

"839, that's enough!" Trainer Hilt yelled, but when she continued, unhearing, he had to signal to another X5 to pull her off 494. She was pulled off kicking and screaming at the X5 to tell him to let her go. He finally did, in front of Trainer Hilt.

_Shit, I'm so in trouble,_ she thought.

"What in fuck's sake was that, 839!" he bellowed.

839 had regained enough control and sense to know that she shouldn't respond. She just stood in front of Trainer Hilt with her eyes front.

"494, please escort 839 to the pit where she is to stay for three days," he spat. 494 nodded and took her arm, 839 using all her self-control not to slap his arm away.

As soon as they were out of Trainer Hilt's eyesight and hearing range, 839 wrenched her arm out of 494's grasp and punched him in the face. He cursed as his nose started to bleed.

"Don't touch me," she said. "I can walk myself to the pit, thank you very much."

"What the hell's wrong with you?" 494 asked. "Why are you such a mean bitch?"

"It was put into my cocktail," she retorted, then stalked off toward the pit, 494 following closely behind.

"I don't get why you're so touchy about your mission," 494 said as they reached the pit. "So, you had to kill them. Big deal. It's what we were born to d – "

He was abruptly cut off as he saw a head of brown curls in the pit. He looked closer and her head turned. Brown eyes met hazel once again and surprise was clearly seen in the brown before she quickly masked it. She turned her head away, refusing to look at him.

_Looks like 452's been here for awhile,_ he thought, critically judging her appearance. Despite the dirt and the tiredness on her face, she was still just as beautiful as she had been about 5 days ago. He was disappointed when she looked away, but couldn't help saying something.

"Having fun there 452?" he asked.

_Temper, Max, watch your temper or you'll be here longer._

494 smirked as he saw the strained look of concentration on her face. So she had a temper. And one that could be set off very easily, if her display in the cafeteria was any indication.

"I know rats aren't much company, but you should get along with them just fine considering how you're very much like them," he said, trying to make her lose her temper.

He watched her closely as he saw that she was slowly losing control, but he thought that he could also detect a trace of pain on her face. Damn, he shouldn't have referred to her as a rat.

The guard who was supposed to be on duty watching the pit was coming back from his washroom break. He saw 494 and walked up to him.

"What are you doing here 494?" he asked, recognizing the X5. 494 was well known among the guards, as he did them several… favours.

"Just dropping off 839," he said, pointing to the seething girl now in the pit sitting across from 452.

Unfortunately for Max, she hadn't noticed the guard coming back. She had been too absorbed in trying not to lose control, but she figured just letting one comment slip wouldn't be too bad.

"I'm no more of a rat than you, 494. Actually, I'd say you'd get along with them far better than I ever would," Max said.

The guard turned and looked at her. "Sedition, 452?" he asked. "Maybe I should keep you in here for an extra day. You should treat those of higher class with some respect."

494 saw the look of helplessness come over her features when he realized how hungry she must be. He felt a twinge of guilt and did something he never thought he'd do.

"It was my fault, I provoked her. It's alright," he told the guard.

"You sure, 494?" the guard asked.

_Look at all these idiots! Those guards practically worship the ground 494 walks on! _Max thought. _And how dare he get me in trouble then try to seem all gracious about it._

Not wanting 494 to seem like the good guy when he wasn't, Max managed to ground out, "No, that's alright. I'll stay here for an extra day."

494 raised an eyebrow. _What the hell is she playing at? Doesn't she want to get out of here as early as she can?_

"Really 452, I'll admit it was my fault," he said.

"No, it was mine," Max said, lying through her teeth. "I'll stay for the extra day."

494 looked at her with an amused expression. Judging by the look on her face, he knew she wasn't going to give up. He shrugged.

"Fine, you wanna stay in there? Fine."

The guard threw up his hands. "'09ers. Don't bother trying to do them any good, they're ungrateful son of a bitches."

Once again, 494 thought he saw a flicker of pain in 452's eyes. With a last look at her, then at 839, he turned around and left.

* * *

839 had watched the exchange between 494 and 452, her curiosity deepening. Why did 494 like to bother the '09er so much? As he walked away and looked at 452, she detected a hint of interest in his eyes. Well, this would be interesting.

She looked at the girl across from her, one of the people who had caused her so much trouble and pain. However for some reason, she did not have much contempt for the '09er, if any. She guessed that the girl had been through a lot since returning to Manticore, and even though she found it extremely strange and hypocriticalof herself, she went up to her. She had heard what 452 had said to 494, and it intrigued her that she wasn't broken, and that she actually had the same sort of sense of humour as herself.

"So, watcha in here for?" 839 asked.

Max looked up, surprise flaring up in her eyes once more. She hadn't expected the other girl to talk to her.

Max shrugged. "Going nuts on three X5s and attacking them."

She watched, confused, as the girl grinned.

"Ditto here. Except I attacked 494."

A smirk found its way on Max's face. "Is that so? What stupid thing did he do now?"

"Taunted me while we were sparring. Which isn't a good thing. No one who actually knows me would do that because they know that I'd kick their asses," 839 explained.

"You beat him well," Max said. "Saw his face. It was a disaster."

Both of them chuckled at that and Max was surprised that this girl was being so nice.

"What's your designation?" Max asked.

"839," she responded.

"You're a lot nicer to me than most of the people here," Max said. "How come you're not mad at me for being an '09er?"

839 laughed. "Nice? You're kidding me. I'm known for being mean as hell. And I don't really know why I'm not mad. I mean, sure, I'm pissed at you guys for running away because it made things here a lot harder on us, but I think the real reason why I'm not mad is because it was actually a good idea. This place is prison and hell. I understand why you guys wanted to escape. I just wish you took me with you."

"You want to escape?" Max asked, keeping her voice low so that the guard wouldn't hear, but it didn't really matter because he didn't care what they were saying anyway.

"Who doesn't?" 839 said. She stopped to think about it. "Okay, probably lots don't, but that's probably because they don't think they have a chance. Or they're too brainwashed to think for themselves. I know those X7s are. Those kids freak me out. Anyway, I know what it's like being out there in the world. It ain't any dreamland, that's for sure, with all the trash and everything. Ever since the Pulse hit nothing's been working right. But still, at least we have a choice to do what we want out there."

Max nodded. "I hear ya." She was silent a moment. "I know people think that we ran away just because it was too hard, but that wasn't why. We could deal with things here, it's just that they were killing people in our unit, or they would take them away and never come back. "

839 nodded. "Yeah, that happened to everyone. But you guys actually cared about each other, didn't you? Your unit was sort of an anomaly, because you guys were different than everyone else. You actually cared about each other like family, and no one else had that. There were even rumours that you guys named yourselves. Is that true?"

Max studied 839. She was a pretty girl just like all the Xs were meant to be. She had long, golden blonde hair. _About the same colour as Zack's,_ she thought with a pang in her heart. She had light blue eyes and delicate features. If Max didn't know better, she would have said that this girl was just an average teenage girl, not a genetically-enhanced killing machine. But then again, the same thing could be said about her.

She wondered if she could trust 839 with her most precious secret. Her name was the one thing Manticore could never take away from her, but she didn't know if she should tell someone she had just met something that meant everything to her. But after a minute of thinking it out, she decided that she would share the secret.

"Yeah, we had names," Max said. "It was our way of showing individuality. We weren't just Unit 2; there were different _people_ in Unit 2. We wanted to be people, not numbers."

839 nodded. "So, what's your name?"

"Max," she said.

"Max," 839 repeated. "I like it. Do you think you could help me find a name?"

"Well, let's see," Max said. "I was never good at naming people so you can just try out a few first. Okay, how about…Shirley?"

839 made a face. "No frickin' way. That reminds me of that cutesy kid, Shirley Temple. I'm a soldier, not a little kid licking lollipops."

Max held up a hand. "Hey, I said I was no good at this. Umm… Roxanne?"

"Too punk," 839 said.

"Elizabeth?"

"Too dainty."

"Serena?"

"Too calm."

Max laughed. "Whoa, tough crowd. Okay, well you said people said you were mean. So, how about Mina?"

"Mina," 839 said. "I like it. Mina. I'm Mina. You're Max and I'm Mina."

"Hey, don't wear the name out," Max joked.

Mina smiled and held out her fist. Max bumped it with a smile on her face.

She finally had a friend.

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. I hope all the confusing thoughts that Max has makes sense. I hope I explained why Max's hates 494. Sorta. I'm sorry if it didn't make sense. I think it does though, in some twisted way. Let me know what you think. And how does everyone like Mina so far? Her character will develop as we go along. And MA moments will be coming up soon, don't worry. I just need to sort of put this stuff in first. Hope you liked it! Please review and give me some feedback! Thanks!

Thanks to my great reviewers –

w1cked angel – Thanks so much for reviewing! Please don't die; it would be bad for my reputation. LOL

shygirl1 – Thanks!

Athena80 – Thanks!

elle6778 – Thanks!

human28 – Thanks!

HoneyX5-452 – Thanks! You're right about Max not succeeding in controlling her temper. LOL I'll use your idea about breeding partners later on, so thanks for the idea.

boombox200 – Thanks for reviewing Livie! LOL Finish writing that damn chapter and get it out there. LOL JK No pressure.

Aur – Thanks! I sort of used your idea of Alec visiting Max in the pit so thanks. He didn't exactly visit her because he was bringing 839 there, but still it gave me a chance to bring 839 into the story, so thanks!

CrimsonReality – Thanks!

Darkangel494 – Thanks!

meri24 – Thanks!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Please keep doing so because I would love to hear your feedback. Plz review! –aod78


	4. What Goes Around Comes Around

A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update, I went away for a few days. Anyways, please review everyone because I would love to hear your feedback.

* * *

Finally their stay in the pit was done. The guard had decided not to keep Max for another day because he was sick and tired of hearing her and Mina giggling. Even though she was pale, dirty, and close to passing out because of hunger, Max still had a good feeling inside of her, because even though she felt like her situation at Manticore was hopeless, at the same time she felt that it would be okay. She had a friend now, someone who had her back. She had someone to help her push on, to not give up. And even though she couldn't understand how she could feel hopeless but that everything would sort itself out at the same time, she didn't question it. She had a friend now, a rock. During the past few days, Max's and Mina's friendship grew and there were no accusations or doubts between them. Neither of them had the feeling that the other would tell Manticore what they spoke about; their ordeal in the pit got rid of any insecurity. Max knew that it was a little weird for her to connect with another transgenic so quickly, but somehow she knew that she could trust her.

Their 3 days in the pit together passed quickly due to their talking and plotting. They couldn't stop laughing; they were conspirators now. They came up with many ideas on how to make a certain person's life miserable, if you could call living in Manticore a life at all. They planned and thought of ways to follow through with their little pranks. They treated it as an exercise; the objective at hand was to drive a certain soldier insane and they needed to come up with the most efficient way to complete the objective. Needless to say, the soldier who was now the center of their attention was in very big trouble.

Max smiled to herself as she and Mina climbed out of the pit and headed quickly to the mess hall for some much needed food. A pair of hazel eyes made their way into her mind and she smirked.

_Let the games begin.

* * *

_

494 leaned against a tree in the woods of Manticore, resting up before he had to go to classes, brown eyes in a Hispanic face imprinted in his mind. Throughout the past few days he couldn't get her face out of his mind and it was distracting him. X5-494 did not evade his problems; he solved them. So here he was in the open air, trying to sort things out and understand why the rogue soldier wouldn't leave his mind.

_So much for sorting things out, _he thought. _I'm no more understanding of this than I was when I first got here. _

He san down to the round and rubbed at his eyes. It disturbed him that he wasn't in control. He liked to be able to control his thoughts and feelings, and to not let them get out of hand. However, judging by his progress, or lack thereof, it was like trying to control a wild, raging lion. He just couldn't.

He thought back to another face, one that he was supposed to have forgotten but didn't. Pain filled his body and he banished the face from his mind. He had made the mistake of falling in love with her, and look at what happened. She was dead.

494 blinked at his thoughts. _Love? What the hell does the fact that I loved Rachel have to do with 452? I'm losing it._

He shook his head to clear those thoughts but it seemed like his brain had something else in store for him. He thought back to how 452 had looked in the pit, pale, tired and hungry. He remembered how he had wanted to pull her out of there, to take care of her and make her feel better. He remembered the look of hurt in her eyes when he had said that degrading comment and lastly, he remembered the anger at himself for making her feel that way, anger also for even caring about a traitor, an '09er.

But somehow that felt wrong to call her a traitor. He understood why they left, but he and so many others had to endure so much pain because of them. He had wanted to harden his heart against her, but that hurt look in her eyes stopped him. He didn't know why he had the urge, the _need_, to aggravate her, to anger her. He just found it amusing when he teased her, and even when he knew that he shouldn't, he couldn't help it.

He clenched his fists. _Why the hell am I letting some stupid rogue '09er get the better of me? Why am I even wasting my time _thinking _about some girl who happens to have a fiery temper and big eyes. I'm not going to let a woman take control of me._

His eyes clouded over and a mask fell into place. He was 494, one of the top soldiers. He wasn't going to let anyone confuse his thoughts or make him feel things he didn't understand. He was 494 and nothing, _nothing, _was going to put him off balance.

He started towards the building.

* * *

Max shoveled the food into her mouth, not taking a breath so that she wouldn't choke. Mina was doing the same although not so vigorously. Soon the plate in front of Max was completely empty, but her stomach still growled with hunger. Mina looked up from her food.

"You want the rest of mine?" she asked.

Max shook her head. "No, you should eat your own food. You must be starving too."

"I wasn't in there as long as you," she pointed out but Max still refused.

"I'll be fine," she said. She lowered her voice. "I might sneak back later and get some extra food. Wanna come?"

Mina nodded and shoved her now empty plate aside beside Max's. "First, I want to have a shower. Then, I want to get back at our little buddy for putting me in the pit in the first place."

Max grinned. "Ooh, definitely. What's his next class?"

Mina thought. "Well, he's in the same unit as me. Unfortunately, he's my C.O. and we have escape and evade next."

"You get the cloth and stick and I'll set up the traps," Max said.

Mina nodded and they both set off to take a shower and put their plan in motion.

* * *

Max relished the hot water pouring over her body because she knew it would turn cold soon. She put her hands out in front of her and leaned against the wall under the shower spray.

"Blessed hot water," she mumbled.

As she leaned against the wall, the thoughts in her head started to swirl around as she thought about what happened ever since she came back to Manticore.

_Got captured, died, Zack committed suicide, I came back to life, got shunned by the others, went to Psy Ops and through reindocrination, met the biggest pain in the ass of my life, met the only friend I have so far and now I have to play the good little soldier to escape. Not exactly the nicest life so far. _

Escape. The one thing that kept her going in this hellhole. Well, that and now Mina. She thought about all the people she had had in her previous life before she got captured. Now they seemed so far away. All the people she had cared about so much, the people who had had her back all the time, were too far away to comfort her now. The only way she could still feel connected to them was when she thought about them, brought their faces into her mind and fought to not let them fade. Original Cindy, Sketchy, Herbal, Kendra, Druid, hell, even Normal and… Logan.

_God, I haven't thought about Logan for such a long time. I've just had so much to think about, I haven't had the chance to think about him, or anyone else for that matter. _

_Or is it because you've been thinking more about _someone _else? _A treacherous little voice in her mind whispered.

She shook her head and the water came flying off her curls. She felt the water turn cold and stepped out, wrapping a towel around. She felt weak; she was still so hungry. One small plate of food couldn't replace a week's worth of hunger.

_After Mina and I set everything, we'll get some more food, _she thought. _But for now, we need to get back at our favourite X5._

She grinned as she put on her clothes. There was about ten minutes before classes were supposed to start up again. Plenty of time to set up their stuff and still make it to class. Since Max wasn't in a unit yet, her schedule was different from Mina's, so she had a little more time than Mina did.

She snuck out into the hallway and crept forward, her back against the wall. She peeked her head around the corner and darted around, slipping into the weapons room. She looked around and quickly got the things she needed, and then quietly slipped out again. Silent as a mouse, she ran stealthily through the hallways and into the woods, setting everything up. She saw Mina come toward her and together their hands worked craftily, both of them grinning along the way. Once they were done, they gave each other a little nod and headed off to their next classes.

* * *

494 stood to attention in front of Trainer Green; his eyes seemingly focused but the thoughts inside his head the complete opposite. He couldn't seem to center his thoughts on any one thing; there was too much stuff to process. But he knew that everything seemed to revolve around a certain person. Something which confused him to no ends.

494's mind cleared for the moment as Trainer Green's voice snapped him to reality.

"You will be divided into two teams," he said. "Each team will be given a flag to hide, and each team will try to obtain the other team's flag and return to base without being caught. Each member of each team will be given a paint ball gun, and if you are hit by a paint ball, you must lie down as if you are dead and you are out of the exercise. The objective is to retrieve the opposing team's flag. Now for the teams…"

He walked in front of them to the middle of their line and inspected the blank faces.

"369, 222, 104, 048, 494, 528, 329, 753, 215 and 323," he barked. "You will be Team A with 494 as the mission leader. 274, 420, 839, 025, 663, 163, 925, 426, 273 and 729, you will be Team B with 839 as your mission leader. Gather round to retrieve your weapons."

494 had a pleased look on his face when he heard his team. They were all soldiers he worked well with and he felt sure they would win.

_Thank God 839 isn't on my team, _he thought. _I don't think she got over her trip to the pit._

494 snuck a look at her to see how she was faring and was slightly disturbed at the grin on her face. 839 wasn't known for being cheery and after 3 days in the pit, she should be far from it. The fact that she was grinning like a kid on Christmas unnerved him.

_A kid on Christmas, _he thought. _What does 839 want?_

Realization came to him. _Crap, I better look out. 839's got something up her sleeve. What the hell did 452 do to her?_

Funny how he had immediately jumped to the conclusion that 452 had done something to her, but he didn't realize this. He took what he needed and disappeared into the forest with the rest of his team, Mina watching their direction carefully before slipping into the forest with her team as well.

* * *

Mina squatted down around a tree with her team as 420 hid the flag in the highest points of the tree. They were all already muddy, their boots caked with mud. Mina had chosen to hide their flag in a tree in the middle of a bog because she knew that 494 didn't really like to get down and dirty. Besides, the muddy atmosphere would slow the other team down and would provide them with the cover they needed since their army shirts and pants blended in perfectly with the green and brown in the bog.

She motioned for her team to listen attentively as 420 dropped down beside her. He nodded his head to indicate that the flag was properly hidden.

She communicated with the others with quick gestures of her hands.

_494 is good at holding his breath under the tank so I'm thinking that he hid the flag somewhere around water. There's a river about 7 clicks from here. 420, 025 and 729, you 3 do some recon. Find out where 494 has guards protecting the flag. 426, 163, 925, 274 and 273, I want you guys to spread out around here and keep yourselves well hidden. Use the foliage to your advantage. 273 and 274, I want you two to be the main guards of the flag. 663 and I will be going with the recon team and then they will go off and make an owl's hoot. That is a false signal when you hear it the first time. We'll pretend we have the flag and I'm counting on the fact that 494 will believe that the owl's hoot is false. When we do get the flag, you will hear a second owl's hoot. I think 494 will just think that it's still a fake signal, when really it means we have the flag. So, when you hear the second owl's hoot, know that it's true. The team that will be staying here, be on alert and scout the surroundings for any of 494's team. As a back-up plan, if 663 or I get caught, you will hear a crow's call. The recon team will then proceed to get the flag. Oh, and if you see anything out of the ordinary, objects I mean, pay no attention to them. Does everyone understand?_

Everyone made an ok signal but still looked at her strangely at the last bit, but they stood up and went into position. Mina nodded her head to herself. It seemed like a good plan. She just hoped they would listen to her and not approach any objects. It wouldn't be good if they got caught in the traps she and Max had set. She had put 273 and 274 in charge of guarding the flag because since they were twins, they worked well together. They had some sort of way to understand the other without putting their thoughts into words or motions and that was something very good to have on a team. She motioned to 663 to come join her and together they went forward with the recon team. She had chosen 663 to go in for the kill with her because she worked the best with her. The short, red-haired, punky transgenic was very good at stealth which would come in handy.

They crept forward and the exercise, which really seemed like a game of survival, began.

* * *

Max held a gun in her hand, the weight of it feeling a thousand times heavier than it actually was. The feeling of holding a gun repulsed her, but she always knew that one day she would have to use one again. She knew that one day a gun would make the difference of whether she would live or die, so she took a deep breath and tried to push the knot in her stomach aside. She felt the whole class watching her intently, expecting her to screw up she was sure.

Trainer Somers sighed and tapped his foot impatiently.

"Would you please raise your gun, 452, and empty your clip," he said. "We'd like to be done before next year."

Max's hands shook as she lifted the gun, and she took focus, her eyes zeroing in on the center of the dummy's forehead, right between its eyes. She pushed away all her insecurities and her eyes glazed over. She was 452.

She took aim and let her finger caress the trigger. She felt all the other soldiers hold their breath. She pulled the trigger repeatedly and a number of shots rang out through the air. She pulled back with a strangely triumphant look. There was silence all around and she looked at the dummy, inspecting her work. There was one clean bullet hole right in between its eyes, so clean that no one would ever know that there had been multiple shots.

"I'm impressed 452," Trainer Somers said, breaking the silence. "I didn't expect you to do this well."

Max looked down at the gun in her hand and she felt that she had broken through a barrier. She didn't feel as though she could use a gun anytime, but she had used one and she could work her way up, get used to the feeling. She had known she would do well; when she was younger she was always a great shot, often better than Zack and Syl who were always the best.

"Thank you sir," she said, and then she walked to where the others were standing in line, waiting for their turn. As soon as she neared them they all stepped back, as if she had some contagious disease. This saddened her slightly, but her eyes just burned with more determination to beat this bitch, to survive Manticore. She stood in the back, observing the others as they took their turns, and lightened up at the time she thought 494 was having.

* * *

"Fuck, 839 sure has it in for me," 494 muttered as he picked himself off the ground. He had heard a small rustling and when he went to investigate it he tripped over a string and fell face first into a pile of mud. He glimpsed some golden hair disappearing through the brush just as he began to pick himself up and knew immediately that it was the angry 839. He was about to ask himself why she didn't just put him out of the exercise, and then realized that there must be more traps out there that she wanted him to step into. He wondered how she could set all this up by herself.

_I wonder how chummy 839 and 452 got in the pit, _he thought, carefully scouting his surroundings. He stopped when he realized what he had done.

_Damn, 452 again. What is it with her? It's driving me nuts!_

He made sure to inspect the ground that he walked on for any booby traps. So far he had fallen into mud, had had a bucket of water poured onto his head then a bunch of grass following it to stick in his hair, had found ants in his water bottle and had no idea what to expect next.

He halted in his tracks when he heard the hoot of an owl. He knew how 839 would think and ignored it. He knew she was trying to trick him and motioned to his team who was hiding around the river the ignore it. He figured that water would be the best place to hide the flag because it was hard to travel through it. He also knew that 839 had a little bit more feline DNA than others so she absolutely hated water. He grinned. At least one way to get her back for all her tricks.

He whirled around when he heard a rustling sound and found himself face to face with the devil herself.

"839," he said. "You've caused me quite a lot of trouble."

She grinned at his appearance. His hair and clothes were completely filthy but he still managed to have a little cocky smirk on his face.

"Just thought I'd return the favour," she said. She watched with a smile as he whipped out his paint ball gun and squeezed the trigger. He frowned as a piece of cloth with the word "bang" on it popped out and looked at her with a disbelieving look.

"Could you be any more juvenile?" he asked.

"Well, you could probably beat me in that category," she said as a glob of paint hit him in the chest. He sighed and lay down on the ground.

He watched as she disappeared into the forest.

"What goes around comes around," he muttered.

Mina's team won that day.

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked that. For all of you who wanted MA action, I'm so sorry. It's coming up in the next chapter, I promise. I already have it all typed up so if you review, I'll post it. (Looks around innocently pretending it's not a bribe. LOL) Please give me your feedback, I'd deeply appreciate that.

Thanks ever so much to –

mel11 – Thanks!

elle6778 – Thanks! Yup, Mina sure is a kick-ass chick alright. Hmm, reminds me of a certain X5 we all know. LOL

shygirl1 – Thanks!

Cora – Thanks! I'm glad you like Mina.

Athena80 – Thanks! Mina and Max will be great friends, that's for sure and they'll be there for each other. That's a good thing since they've both been through a lot. About what happened to Mina, you'll see later on. She has a darker past than Max knows. I think I'm gonna put Max in Alec's unit because it will present some interesting circumstances. And yes, Joshua and Biggs will both be brought in. That's all I'm gonna say for now, don't want to give anything away. LOL

Aur – Thanks!

ontheDL – Thanks!

HoneyX5-452 – Thanks!

boombox200 – Thanks Livie!

Gamegirl452 – Thanks!

w1cked angel – Thanks! I'm going to bring breeding partners in, don't worry, just not yet. The time isn't right yet. LOL Mina's going to be having some talks with Max about 494.

CrimsonReality – Thanks!

meri24 – Thanks! The MA moments are coming up, don't worry. Glad you like Mina.

Me – Thanks! LOL Love your name. Me, it's original. LOL

Alana84 – Thanks! Alec better watch out because Mina is very much like Max and when you double Max's kick-ass attitude, you get one explosive combo. LOL

Lulu – Thanks! I hate ML. LOL No offense to ML lovers.

Thanks to everyone again and please review so I can get my already typed chapter out there. I'd love to hear your feedback! Hugs and kisses, aod78


	5. Surprising News and Thoughts

A/N: Okay guys, here's the next chapter. I hope you like it. Please review and give me some feedback people!

* * *

Max and Mina sat on Max's bunk, laughing hysterically at what they had done to 494.

"You should have seen his face," Mina said, almost choking with laughter. "It was priceless!"

"I wish I had been there," Max said. "Oh well. At least I'll see his pink hair tomorrow morning."

"Yeah," Mina agreed. "I can't wait until the Trainers see it. He's sure to get a mouthful."

Max reached under her bed and pulled out a can of pink hair dye. "Where'd you get this stuff anyway?"

"663 and I got it when we went on a long-term mission a year ago. She tried it but for some weird reason, it turned out red for her," Mina explained.

Max nodded. "663, I think I know her. I really like her, so far she hasn't been mean to me or anything like the others."

"663 is kind in nature," Mina said. "She doesn't like to judge people until she knows them. I think if you guys met, you might hit it off."

"Even though I'm an '09er?" Max asked skeptically.

Mina nodded. "Yeah. Like I said, she doesn't like making opinions about people until she gets to know them. She's fair in that way."

Max put the can under her bed again and stood up. "Now's a good time to raid the disgusting food in the mess hall."

Mina stood up as well. "Yeah, well, it's all we've got."

They opened Max's cell door as quietly as they could and slipped out, stealthily making their way through the dark halls. Mina's hand was just reaching for the door handle when they heard a voice.

"What are you two doing this late at night?" a guard asked. "Soldiers are not supposed to be wandering around at this hour."

Both Mina and Max put on seductive smiles and walked towards him.

"We were just a little thirsty, so we decided to get some water," Mina said, playing with his shirt.

"Surely that's not a crime, is it?" Max asked, running her hands up and down his chest.

"Still, it's lights out now," the guy said, gulping nervously.

"And you're doing your job wonderfully, scolding us like that," Max said. She tilted her head to the side. "Do you work out?"

He cleared his throat. "About 3 times a week."

Mina nodded, rubbing his bicep. "It shows."

"Alright girls, just get your water and go, okay?" he said.

They both nodded and gave another smile before he headed off.

"That was easy," Mina said. "Put on a smile and flirt with him, you get what you want."

"The guy's only human after all," Max remarked.

"Nice display," a voice said. "Still, I didn't know your standards for men were so low."

They froze and Max scowled. She slowly turned around to face a cheeky looking 494, with his hair still the normal colour.

_We put the dye in his towel so that when he dried his hair after a shower, it would rub off onto it. Does he not dry his hair?_

"Even with our low standards, you still don't make it," Max said.

494 put on a hurt look and put a hand to his heart. "Ouch. That just kills me."

_He's cute when he does that, _Max thought. Her eyes widened. _What the hell was I just thinking!_

494 noticed Mina's gaze. "Yeah, the pink hair dye? A little too noticeable on a white towel."

She glared at him in response and he grinned.

"So, what are you gonna do? Run to mommy Renfro and tell her we're out of bed?" Max asked.

494 grimaced. "Don't ever call Renfro "mommy" again. That's just sick. I bet she'd eat her kids."

Even Max and Mina had to snicker at that.

"No, I need 452 to come with me," 494 said.

Max raised an eyebrow. "You want me to tuck you in and read you a bedtime story?"

494 grinned again. "That sounds like a mighty fine idea. Do I get a good night kiss too?"

Mina observed the banter between the two with a small smile.

_They've got it worse than I thought._

"How about a good night kick?" Max countered. "Maybe it will get that brain moving."

494 pouted. "But that'd be child abuse."

_Okay, he looks really cute doing that, _Max thought. She felt like slapping herself. _Bad thoughts. _

"You're right on the child part," Max said. "How old are you? 2? 3?"

"Now that hurts," he said. "I'm at least 5."

"Please," Max scoffed. "You're giving 5 year olds a bad name. They've got way more knowledge than you do."

He grinned cockily. "I bet I can do stuff they can't." He walked up to her until he was right in her face. "Wanna see?"

Max fought to keep her composure from being so close to him and frowned. "No, get out of my face. Being so close to me might give me some disease you have."

"I'd think it was the other way around, 452, considering you're the one who spent 10 years in the big, bad, dirty world."

"Considering all the nasty friends you've probably made when you went on solo missions, I'm still willing to bet you're more diseased than I am," Max retorted.

494 put on another hurt look. "That's mean, 452. Just because my friends were druggies and psychopaths doesn't mean they're bad. They're just… lost."

He had meant to joke but something in what he said rang through Max.

_They're just… lost, _he had said. She flashed back to when she was sitting on Logan's couch, thinking about Ben.

_He's wasn't crazy, _she had thought. _He was just lost._

494 waved a hand in front of her face. "452? You in there? Hello, earth to 452?"

Mina walked up to her. "Hey, you okay?"

Max snapped out of her trip down memory lane and nodded even though she looked a bit shaken. "Yeah, fine."

She looked at 494 and decided to end their chit chat and get straight to the point.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"Renfro asked that I bring you to her office," he said.

Max knit her eyebrows. "Now? This late?"

"No, next year," 494 said sarcastically. "Get your ass moving 452."

Max hit him on the shoulder and walked off in Renfro's office's direction. He rubbed at it and looked at Mina.

"She always this cheerful?" he asked. Mina hit him and returned to her barracks.

He looked after her with a smile on his face. "I hope she's not afraid of frogs," he muttered, hurrying after Max.

* * *

Max and 494 walked into Renfro's office, where she lounged in her chair.

"I trust you found her easily, 494?" Renfro asked.

"Yes," he said. "She was already out in the halls."

Renfro looked at Max and Max glared at 494.

"She was just thirsty and going to get some water though," 494 added hastily, seeing the underlying threat in Max's eyes.

Renfro relaxed and gestured for a guard to come closer.

"Get some water for 452," she said. He nodded and a minute later he was back, a glass of water in his hands.

"Thank you," Max said.

She took a sip then put the glass down. "You wanted to see me, ma'am?"

Renfro folded her hands on her desk. "I've been thinking about your behaviour lately, 452. Other than the altercation in the mess hall a week ago, you've been doing very well in all of your classes, both attitude and skill wise. All your Trainers say that you've been catching up remarkably quickly and that you will soon be at the same level as your fellow soldiers."

494 blinked at this. _Is she really that good?_

"Anyways, I've been considering putting you in a unit. This way you'll get used to working with other soldiers instead of being alone all the time. I want to make myself clear that I expect you to get along with the other members of your unit and that I don't want to be hearing about you in fights or disrupting things, do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am, I understand," Max said in a monotone voice. In truth, she didn't really care if she was in a unit or not. True, maybe she could make some friends but she highly doubted it considering everyone's reaction towards her, except for Mina of course. "Into which unit will I be put in?" she asked, taking another sip from her drink.

494 grinned. This would be interesting.

"You'll be in Unit 8, with 494 as your C.O.," Renfro said, waiting expectantly for Max's reaction. What she got, however, wasn't what she was expecting.

Max spat out the water in her mouth, showering both Renfro and 494 with it, and started having a coughing fit. She put the glass down and doubled over, coughing from choking on the water.

494 tried hard to suppress a laugh while Renfro took a napkin and wiped her face with it. She lifted her eyebrows high.

"Problem, 452?" she asked.

Max finally started to get herself under control. "No ma'am," she said, not wanting to give her and 494 the satisfaction of knowing how pissed off she was. "I just choked on some water when I tried to speak."

_Probably to either verbally abuse me or make some protest, _494 mused.

"You will get a new cell closer to where Unit 8 is tomorrow. 494 will give you your new schedule and will tell you all the things you need to know and answer all the questions you have," Renfro said. "Starting tomorrow morning, you will officially be part of Unit 8. Good night."

Max and 494 stood and left. They walked down the hall to their cells.

"At 0700 we wake up as usual. At 0730 we have roll call. I'm at the head of the line since I'm C.O. with 048 beside me as 2IC. The rest line up in order of their designations, so you would be in between 426 and 510."

"510?" Max asked. "He's in your unit? But during the escape and evade exercise, he wasn't the – "

She cut off abruptly, realizing her mistake. He looked at her.

"Don't worry 452; I know you and 839 had a little fun at my expense. 510 wasn't there because he had to get the monthly tests done on him," 494 said.

_Tests my ass, _Max thought. _They were doing the monthly experiments on him._

"How come there are only 21 people in your unit?" Max asked. "Well, now 22 because of me, but aren't there supposed to be 30?"

494's eyes darkened. "The others are either dead, taken away, or they disappeared. You think that only ever happened to your unit? It happened to everyone."

"Anyways," he said, continuing on. "We parade around the perimeter like idiots until 0800 when we go to the mess hall for breakfast. Our classes are on this sheet," he said, handing it to her. "At 1200, we break as usual for lunch in the mess hall. We have classes until 2000 when we go to the mess hall for dinner. We have recreational time until 2100, then we go to our barracks as usual and it's lights out. Not much different from your schedule except the classes."

He looked at her. "Any questions?"

"Yeah," Max said. "Are you as much of an ass during classes as you are with me?"

494 grinned and they stood outside her cell. "You'll have to see."

She rolled her eyes and pushed the door open.

"Are you going to invite me in?" he asked.

"In your dreams," she said, walking in.

He paused thoughtfully. "Well, it does happen often enough. Except you're waiting with a robe on and you have a new personality."

She hit him and shut her door. He kept walking down the hall until he heard a small scream.

"I guess she found the geckos," he said.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! I hope you liked this. Lots of banter between Max and Alec so review and give me some feedback. Tell me what you thought. Plz? LOL I'll update faster if you review. (Looks around innocently) LOL

Thanks soooo much to –

meri24 – Glad you liked the tricks!

Aria-Chan – A new reviewer! Yay!

HoneyX5-452 – Mina rocks, doesn't she? LOL

crystalise – A new reviewer! Yay!

elle6778 – Glad you liked the tricks. Girls kick ass is so true, lol. My fave quote. I think Alec's gonna go nuts when he figures out his thoughts. lol Some of the other transgenics will come around, don't worry. Patience in all things, right? LOL Too bad we didn't really see Bling in the second season.

GiRl MaGe – Yes, there will be a lot of Mina. She'll be one of the main characters.

calistra – A new reviewer! Yay!

CrimsonReality – LOL I'm glad everyone likes Mina so much.

bryn – A new reviewer! Yay!

Cora – Glad you liked the tricks!

Aur – Happy that everyone loves the tricks!

shygirl1 – Thanks! Please update "What's Next?" soon, I'm loving it!

Alana84 – LOL Alec doesn't like to get down and dirty. LOL Thanks!

Gamegirl452 – I'm so happy that everyone loves the traps! With Max and Alec, you'll have to see what happens.

4eva Jensen – A new reviewer! Yay! Glad you like Mina!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, it was greatly appreciated and let me know what you really liked so far. (I.e. Mina, the tricks…) I'd love it if you'd keep doing that, reviewing and telling me what you liked so that I could make this story better for you. Thank you to everyone! –aod78

BTW, if you could check out my other fics, that'd be really great. I have another short MA one, "Tell Her", and a few MZs if you're interested. Just go to my profile and check them out! Thanks everyone and if you review, I'll update faster!


	6. 510 The Flirt

A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the long wait. I just got the 6th Harry Potter book and had to read it. Thankfully for you guys, I'm a fast reader and read it all in one day. LOL Okay, I'm gonna stop babbling and get on with the story. Hope you like it, please review and give me feedback!

* * *

Max stalked towards her new unit's line for roll call, scowling as she passed 494.

"What crawled up your butt, something four-legged and slimy?" muttered 494 under his breath as she passed. She made sure to land a swift kick to his ankles when the Trainer looked away for a moment and he had to stifle a grunt of pain, glaring at her, promising payback.

She quickly got in line between 426 and 510. She felt the whole unit's eyes on her as she passed them but made sure to keep her eyes glazed over and ignored them.

The trainer shouted "Eyes Front" and proceeded to call out each and every one of their designations. At Max's, almost everyone snuck a glance at her resulting in the trainer to shout "Eyes Front" again, snapping everyone back to attention. When he finished, he cleared his throat to speak. His eyes shifted to Max, and realizing he was about to explain her presence, they all listened attentively.

"As you all have seen, there is a new addition to your unit," he said. "452 will now be part of Unit 8, and you are expected to treat her the same way you treat your fellow unit mates. Does everyone understand?"

A chorus of "Yes Sir!" was heard.

The trainer nodded. "Very well, go do your rounds of the perimeter."

They filed out into the pleasantly cool morning and – lined up in twos, Max walking alongside 510 – they started to march forward, with perfect ramrod posture even though no one was really supervising them.

"So 452, how has your stay at Manticore been so far?" 510 asked, surprisingly pulling it off with only a tinge of sarcasm.

She gave him a dry look and he grinned.

"That well, huh?" he said.

She ignored him and kept walking without looking at him.

"Ignoring people isn't exactly the best way to make friends," 510 pointed out. "Or are you not exactly a people person?"

Max shook her head slightly and finally looked at him. "Is there a reason you're talking to me?"

510 looked around. "Well, seeing as this is way more boring than Trainer Jones droning on excitedly about all the tedious events in history, I figured it would be nice to have a chat on a crisp morning with a pretty lady. Don't you agree?"

Even Max had to crack a smile at his overt flirting. He grinned at her and she grinned back, still shaking her head with disbelief.

"Doesn't the fact that I'm an '09er put you off?" she asked.

_Oh yeah, Max. Find a person who finally doesn't seem to treat you like crap because of who you are and what do you do? Question them about it._

510 shrugged. "You seem alright considering what 494 has been saying about you. And besides, you've been through re-indoc and Psy Ops. You're one of us again."

"And what has 494 been saying about me?" she asked.

"Oh, that you're very touchy, extremely bitchy, rude towards others, have a bad temper, has befriended the scary 839, and will bite off the head of whoever looks at you in the wrong way," 510 said, counting the points off of his fingers.

Max raised one eyebrow. "He did, did he?" she said, mentally making a note to kick 494's ass later.

510 nodded. "But what he didn't say, was how incredibly beautiful you are. Maybe you would like to get to know each other better later on?" he asked, wagging his eyebrows and she laughed.

Her laugh drew the attention of all the others and they looked at her and 510. Mina looked at her with an inquisitive look but then shrugged and kept marching. 494, however, gave her a look of utmost intensity that it sent a few shivers down her spine, but after looking at her, then 510, and back again, he turned his head around and continued on.

"Depends on your definition of getting to know each other," Max answered.

"It can be whatever you want it to be, 452, but may I make a suggestion? I'm opting for a more non-verbal and physical conversation," 510 said.

She smirked and shook her head. "Sorry hon, but I'm going for the more verbal option."

"Damn, I knew I wouldn't get lucky," 510 muttered, all the while giving her a big smile. "But hey, I'm a flexible guy. Talking I can do."

"I'm sure," Max said. "Maybe it will wear you out, get rid of all your energy."

510 shook his head and winked at her suggestively. "There's only one way to wear me out, 452, and the only way you'll probably ever do it is if you get drunk." He paused thoughtfully. "Or go into heat."

She rolled her eyes and couldn't believe how much he didn't act like a Manticore soldier.

"How come you're not so uptight like all the others? You know, all mission, objective, and completion, hut, hut, hut," Max asked him.

"I dunno," 510 said. "Maybe they never got laid."

Max had to use all of her self-control not to laugh, but still, a sort of gasping, choking sound came out, once again attracting the attention of the others.

"452, 510, that is enough. We're not supposed to talk during our rounds of the perimeter," 494 said.

Max shot him a glare which he returned fully and fell silent, 510 as well.

_What's going on with him? _510 thought. _We always talk during our rounds and he even joins in half the time. _

They all continued in silence and 15 minutes later, headed off for breakfast.

* * *

"What's with you?" 510 asked 494 as they slid their trays along the counter.

"What do you mean?" 494 asked, obviously knowing exactly what his best friend was talking about.

"The march around the perimeter," 510 said. "We always talk."

"We're not supposed to," 494 replied, helping himself to a scone. _Well, you're not supposed to be talking to her._ He frowned at his thought.

"But we always do, so I don't understand why you made us shut up," 510 said.

He saw 494's gaze travel to where a pretty brunette was sitting with her friend and understood immediately.

"So it's her?" 510 asked.

494 swung his gaze to meet his.

"It's her what?" he asked.

"Why you got so mad," explained 510. "It's because of her. Not because I was talking, but because 452 was. I don't understand what you have against her. I talked to her and she was pretty nice, nothing like you said she was like."

"Nice?" he said incredulously, taking a bite out of his scone. "Are you kidding me? The woman is a walking, talking, and breathing insult machine." _Wrapped up in an incredibly sexy package. _He choked on his scone.

"Maybe that's how she is with you, maybe it's you that's setting her off," 510 suggested, helping himself to a muffin.

"Me? I didn't do anything wrong. It's like every time I see her, she's just angrier at me than the time before. I don't even know why!" 494 said, his voice rising slightly. He calmed down and shrugged. "Not like I care, of course."

But 510 saw that his friend did care, and a notion made its way into his mind. He started walking towards where 452 was, to test his theory and grinned when he felt 494 stop him. He turned around.

"Where are you going?" 494 asked him. "That's not where we usually sit."

"I know," 510 said with a smile. "I told 452 that I'd like to get to know her better."

"You what!" 494 exploded. "Why the hell would you want to do that?"

"She's a pretty hot chick," 510 said, careful to make sure his expression looked interested. "Thought maybe she would like to hang out sometime."

494 stared at him blankly. "Are you kidding? She's the bitchiest person you'll have ever met and she'll drive you completely insane!"

510 grinned. "Guess I'll have to tame her down, won't I?"

He walked to the table she was sitting at and sat down beside her. He leaned in close as he talked to her and instinctively looked up to see 494's furious face. He stood there for a moment before grudgingly coming to sit with them.

_Ooh, has he got it bad,_ 510 thought with glee. Apparently some of the happiness showed in his face, because 839 asked him in a harsh tone, "What the hell are you looking so damn cheerful about?"

He looked at her and put on a heart-stopping grin. "At the thought I just had. You had this gold dress on and you were sitting in the sun waiting for me to come home and you looked like the goddess Venus."

She smacked him hard over the head and both Max and 494 snorted in amusement. They caught each other's eye and suddenly 494 had the burning urge to say something that would piss her off.

"Well 452, 839 sure has been getting a lot more violent lately. Must be getting it from you," he said.

"All the guards are dumber than they used to be. Must be getting their stupidity from you since they seem to worship the ground you walk on. Have they asked to shine your boots for you yet? Or are you being gracious as always?"

"Nice to know you think I'm gracious, 452," 494 said. "It warms my heart so to know that you have such a high opinion of me."

"My opinion of you is lower than hell," Max shot back.

494 frowned. "Whoa, that's pretty low. Why don't you lower your high standards, huh? 'Cause I know I just did."

She glowered at him and he smirked right back. Mina and 510 shared knowing glances, then, realizing that she was actually being normal for once, 510 grinned at her and she turned her head away.

Max bit her lip angrily and stood up. "Let's go," she said to Mina. "Classes are starting soon."

They got up and left the table. That was when 494 noticed 510 staring at him.

"What?" he asked. "She bugs me alright. I can't help it."

510 continued staring at him quietly without blinking.

"Hey man, you're freaking me out here," 494 said.

510 just smiled and stood up. "We better get to classes," was all he said.

* * *

Max walked with Mina to their next class, fists and teeth clenched tightly. "That guy just pushes me to the edge," she said angrily. "He's always there being a smart aleck, making stupid, sarcastic comments." She stopped and Mina almost walked right into her.

"Smart aleck, Alec," she said. "That's a perfect name for him if I everheard one."

"How about we try to come up with names for everyone else?" Mina suggested. "It'll be fun."

Max nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. But not yet though, I need to get to know them first."

"Okay," Mina said. She felt someone bump into her and she turned around.

"Hey buddy, watch – " She calmed down when she saw who it was.

"Hey 663," Mina greeted.

"Hi 839. 452," she said, nodding at Max. "Sorry, I'm a bit of a klutz."

"It's okay," Max said. "What's up?" she asked, thinking she would try to go for the conversation starter-up.

"Um, I'm… alright," 663 said, obviously not predicting that they would go pass the "hi" stage. "And you?"

"Well, I'm alive aren't I?" Max joked. When she saw the look on her face, she sobered up. "Good actually, considering the circumstances. Not everyone has exactly opened their arms out in greeting."

663 nodded. "That can be hard," she said softly.

The three of them continued to walk down the hall, Max shooting Mina a questioning look. Mina shook her head that Max knew meant she would explain later.

"How did your last mission go?" Mina asked, trying to break the ice. "Mine wasn't too good."

"It was rather boring actually," 663 said, a little more power in her voice. "It was the standard thing. Go in, get some information, and return to base. If the target is too dangerous to Manticore, he gets eliminated." She looked a little relieved. "Thank God the guy didn't know anything. I would have hated to see him killed. He was nice."

Mina snorted. "Men? Nice? Are you sure we're talking about the same species? They're of the canine kind."

Max took on a wistful expression as she heard this. It reminded her of Original Cindy, who thought she was dead.

_Flashback_

"_I kind of feel bad for guys sometimes," Max said._

"_Please," said Original Cindy with a skeptical look._

"_They're prisoners of their genes," Max said._

"_So are dogs," Cindy pointed out._

_End Flashback_

"452, you okay?" 663 asked worriedly. Max looked at her. "You kind of spaced," she explained.

"Yeah, sorry," Max said. She walked on without another word.

"That was weird," Mina said, watching her as she left.

* * *

"This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. This cable hack will last exactly 60 seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped, and is the only free voice left in this city. Jim Pelion is an evil criminal who needs to be put behind bars. He is using young girls for atrocious things and those girls are frightened, scared. Think about your own daughter, if you have one. They are in a situation in which they think escape is hopeless, and no one can help them. Jim Pelion has 35 accounts of murder on his hands, but he will not take any more lives for his new residence is at the bottom of a sea. He will terrorize people no more. This has been a streaming freedom video bulletin. Peace, out."

Logan Cale leaned back against his chair, and rubbed at his eyes. He had not had much sleep lately because he had been working on many Eyes Only cases and a personal case as well.

He moved his chair up slightly and clicked on something on his computer, bringing up a picture of Max. He enlarged it several times then reached out to touch it.

"Max," he whispered. "I know you're out there. I'll find you and save you, I promise I will."

For some strange reason, Loan could not bring himself to think that Max was dead. He just had a feeling, one that was strong, that she was still out there somewhere and that she needed his help. After two months of moping around and rarely leaving his penthouse, he had finally pulled himself together with fierce determination to find out Manticore's location. He would find Max, and he would stop at nothing to do it.

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked that and I also hope that this isn't becoming boring. Please review and give me some feedback, I'd love to know what you thought. Please also check out my other stories. You might like them.

Thanks so much to my wonderful reviewers –

w1cked angel – Thanks!

Lotamoxie – A new reviewer! Yay! I love new reviewers. Glad you like Mina.

calistra – Glad you like all the bantering!

L80bug – I love new reviewers!

Ro – Once again, I love new reviewers! LOL Glad you like the way I write Max and Alec, it's hard to stick to their true characters sometimes.

crystalise – Thanks!

elle6778 – Glad you liked the scene in Renfro's office. I had it stuck in my head for some time; I had to get it out of my system. LOL And I feel bad for you trying for ever to get that chapter. LOL Next time you can't get a hold of one, don't stress yourself out. E-mail me and I'll e-mail you the chapter. LOL

Kelzaa – Thanks!

Iridescent Twilight – I love new reviewers! Glad you like Mina!

shygirl1 – Thanks!

Athena80 – Thanks!

GiRl MaGe – Thanks!

4eva Jensen – Thanks!

HoneyX5-452 – Thanks!

Original Proxy – A new reviewer! Hooray! LOL About your overanalyzing, don't sweat it! I love it when people give me feedback about my work because it helps me become a better writer. I'm only a kid so I'll take all the help I can get. Please keep reviewing, and overanalyzing all you want! Please, I would like to know anything that could help me become better. Thanks:)

Aur – Thanks! LOL Max and Mina in Alec's unit… well, let's just say that'll be interesting and leave it at that.

pixie-ray – LOL Glad you liked the Renfro comment. It's true. I bet she _would _eat her kids. Then again, I can't think of anyone who would ever want to reproduce with that scary, scary lady.

Random Rose – Thanks!

Thanks again to everyone for their wonderful reviews! Please keep reviewing and give me the feedback which I so crave. (Looks around hungrily.) LOL Jk. Please review!


	7. Friends From Both Past And Present

A/N: I'm so happy that everyone's enjoying this! For clarity, yes, 510 IS Biggs. Some people write him in as 510, some as 511, but in this fic he's 510. Please keep reviewing everyone and give me some feedback!

* * *

Mina walked into the rec room and immediately went over to sit beside Max, who was lounging in a couch staring out a window with a wistful expression on her face. She didn't acknowledge Mina's presence as she sat down but kept staring blankly into space.

"You alright 452?" Mina asked. She didn't dare use Max's name in a room full of X5s who would have heard it as clearly as a bell.

The use of her designation had snapped Max out of her stupor and she turned to look at her friend.

"I'm fine 839," Max said. "Don't worry."

But Mina did worry. She saw the sadness in Max's eyes. She knew that Max wanted to be out of Manticore, to escape, but Mina had never seen her this way before. She had always been witty and sarcastic, burning everyone who dared cross her. Now she looked older, nonetheless beautiful, but still. She looked tired and that worried Mina even more because she knew that Max had shark DNA and didn't need much sleep. She, herself, hadn't been blessed with that gift. Then again, to Max, it was probably more of a curse than a gift.

Mina studied her and realized that the sadness emanating from her friend was not because of lack of sleep, or at least that wasn't the majority of the reason. She looked a little longing, ever since earlier on when she, Mina and 663 had been walking to classes. She looked like she was missing something very badly.

_Obviously her life on the outside, _Mina thought. It surprised her for a moment when she realized that she didn't know very much about Max's life on the outside. When they had been talking, Max always had managed to steer their conversation away from that. Sure, Mina knew about what ticked her off and what she liked to do, but Max had never talked about the people she had had in her life before she had been recaptured.

_Probably because it would bring her too much pain, _Mina thought. She didn't push it, however, because she knew that some things should be left alone, and that maybe, in time, Max would reveal things to her. It wasn't like Mina had told Max everything either, the things that had really effected her from her past. They were best friends, though, in a way, they knew absolutely nothing about each other. Both had revealed a lot, but at the same time, nothing had been of importance. Mina had had a dark life in Manticore, and she suspected not everything was peachy keen outside either for Max.

Mina dropped the subject and said nothing else on her behaviour. She started talking about a completely different topic.

"So, you and 510 sure were chatty this morning," Mina said.

Max turned her head to look at Mina more closely. Was it just her or was there a tinge of underlying jealousy that she didn't think even Mina knew was there?

Max shrugged. "He's actually pretty nice. A big flirt, but he's just joking around. I guess some of these people are pretty decent once you get to know them. Though I have no idea how 510 could be the way he is while hanging out with 494 all the time. That guy is a completely egotistical, idiotic, smart aleck who thinks he's a gift to all women on earth."

"Now you're laying it on too thick," 494 said, appearing right in front of them. "But it's nice to know you think of me."

"Speak of the devil," Mina muttered while Max said, "Those thoughts weren't exactly warming."

494 shrugged. "You still were thinking of me." Max rolled her eyes with a small snort.

"Get over yourself, dumbass," she said.

"I will as soon as you do," 494 said cheekily.

Max gave a small grunt of annoyance and tensed for a full-fledged verbal fight.

Mina hid a small grin. Now that 494 was here, at least she snapped out of whatever funk she'd been in for the day. Trust the blonde-headed, hazel-eyed transgenic to be the only one who could turn Max from a disparaging woman to a hot-headed, raging X5 female. Those were always dangerous. Although she didn't like the guy, she wished him luck. An angry X5 female was something she wished on no one to try and handle. The key word being _try._

"You sure do get angry easily, 452," 494 remarked. "And I thought 839 over here was bad."

"I was quite fine until you showed up," Max said. "Is it your personal mission in life? To ruin mine?"

494 put his hand to his chin and rubbed thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it…" He jumped backwards to avoid Max's offending limb. "Violent woman. You need to get your anger out, lady."

Max smiled sweetly. "I will if you be my punching bag."

494 shivered. "No way. I'd like my body to remain intact, thank you very much."

"I'll let you keep your ass, since it's so dear to you," Max offered and 494 smirked.

"Yeah right. You only want me to keep it so that you can keep looking at it all day long," he told her.

"Why would I want to look at yours when there are so many other fine ones in this facility?" Max asked. "We're all supposed to be genetically perfect, remember?"

Mina watched them, amused, but stayed out of their argument. She saw 510 watching them as well and they shared a little conspiring look. Noticing what she had done, Mina looked away once again, refusing to look in his direction.

_Why's she acting this way? _510 thought. _It's like she thinks that she's going to betray someone if she looks at me or something._

He watched the still bickering transgenics before his eyes returned to 839's. He saw the guarded look on her face, a smooth Manticore mask. _Everyone has secrets. I just wonder what hers are?

* * *

_

Logan sat at his desk, furiously ruffling through a bunch of papers in front of him, when he heard the door open. He tossed a glance at who had come in then resumed his shuffling of the papers.

"All work and no play makes Logan a dull boy," a woman's voice said. "You haven't been out of this apartment for weeks. You need to relax. That's the only way you're going to find this Manticore place."

Logan stopped and turned around to face the newcomer. Asha Barlow, a blonde activist part of a group called the S1W stood in the middle of his living room, hands on her hips.

"I don't even understand why you're so hell bent on finding this place," Asha said, raising her shoulders slightly. "I've never seen you more focused on an Eyes Only case. It's just like all the others… right?"

Logan looked at her a moment. "It's actually a personal favour to me that Eyes Only is doing," he said quietly. Asha nodded and took a seat on a nearby chair.

"You knew one of them, didn't you? One of these soldiers," Asha said.

"Her name was Max," he said, his voice even quieter if that was possible.

"They killed her," Asha stated.

"I watched her die," he replied, then stood up. "Though I don't believe she's dead."

"Logan," she said, her voice full of reason, "you watched her die. How can she come back from something like that?"

He turned around and leaned against his desk. "It's just a feeling. I know she's out there somewhere. She needs me. And she wants me to find her."

* * *

_I hope Logan doesn't find out where I am,_ Max thought. _If he goes looking for revenge, they can find him and find out they have Eyes Only. With all the dirt he has on Manticore, it would be a wonder if they didn't kill him._

She lay in her bed in her cell, thinking about all the people she cared about so much back in Seattle. She missed them all, and the impact they had made on her life was great. She missed their funny little ways and quirks, the things that made them them. Like Original Cindy wouldn't be herself without speaking in third person and in slang. Sketchy wouldn't be himself without getting into trouble with gangsters. Herbal wouldn't be himself without speaking so oddly no one could really understand him. Logan wouldn't be himself without his save-the-world attitude. Normal wouldn't be himself without being an idiot. And lastly Kendra, her ex-roommate who had moved in with her cop boyfriend who used to shake them down every month for the rent pay... well that's just something in itself. All the people who had been there for so long weren't there now, couldn't help her. At least not physically.

Max had been having lots of thoughts about her friends lately, but she was also reminded that she was starting to make friends here too. Months ago, if she had been given an opportunity to escape, she would have leapt at the chance, but given the same opportunity now? She wasn't so sure. Original Cindy's face melted into Mina's, Sketchy who was somewhat of a flirt, a bad one, but a flirt nonetheless, melted into 510's face, and Logan's face melted into… 494's?

Max jumped off her bed, discarding her thoughts for her friends just now.

_That was too weird. I need a walk; I need to clear my head._

She knew she wasn't supposed to leave her cell after lights out, but then again, she had never been one to listen to rules. Her cell door was mechanically locked shut, but Mina had told her one day that all the X5s in their unit knew that if you jimmied the hinges a little bit, it would screw up the circuitry for a second. If she shoved something in it for a minute, it would temporarily be out of the control room's control, so she slipped a knife out from under her mattress and jammed it into the slight crack at the side of the door. She heard a small click and opened the door quietly, slipping the knife between the door and the wall so that it wouldn't close behind her.

She crept up the hallways, ducking in and out as she saw the guards. She quickly peeked into Mina's cell and saw that she was fast asleep. A small smile found its way onto her face. Not all of them could have shark DNA. She continued down the halls until she saw a door. She opened it and frowned when she saw the steps leading down.

_Does this go to the basement? But there are Nomalies there._

She caught her thought and shook her head. _I'm being such a child.

* * *

_

An X5 woke up and peered out the window in his door, hearing light footfalls outside. He quickly found a thin utensil and jammed it at the side, slipping out into the darkness to follow the figure descending the steps to the basement.

* * *

Max scrutinized her surroundings, walking around softly. It looked a little like a boiler room, with machinery set up around her. As she walked forward, she didn't notice silent footsteps treading behind her. She saw a book on a chair and reached towards it, but jumped back with a small scream when someone, or rather, something smacked her hand away. Her head snapped up to see a huge figure looming in front of her, snarling. Her next scream got stuck in her throat.

The enormous dog-man trapped her path in front of her so she turned around to escape the way she came from only to find that that way was blocked as well. Standing in front of her was 494, with surprised eyes looking at the dog-man as well. Max looked between the two. On one side was a scary anomaly that may very well end her life. On the other was the worst X5 for her to have there at the moment, who would probably tell on her that she had been out of bed resulting in her being put through more torture. Even though she knew she was being foolish for seeing 494 as an equal threat to the dog-man, she couldn't help it.

She was trapped.

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked that. Sorry it was shorter but I was trying to get at least one chapter in because next week I'm probably going to go away for a couple of days. I'm going to try to fit in another chapter before then, so if you push the little review button down there, another one might appear. LOL Please give me some feedback on this.

Thanks so much to –

elle6778 – Yes, 510 is Biggs. Thank you so much for reviewing!

w1cked angel – I hate Logan a lot too. LOL Well, that's something we have in common. You think it's funny now that Biggs and Mina know that Alec and Max like each other? LOL It'll be nothing compared to how funny it is when the whole unit knows it. LOL Thanks!

Ro – Thanks! Jealous Alec is always funny to read.

calistra – Thanks! I read your story. It's really good so far.

Random Rose – LOL Thanks! Hey lookie, you got mentioned again! LOL I always like to mention all the fabulous people who review my story. It'll be cool when Max and Alec get together, but for now I'm enjoying writing all the UST.

Synthera – Thanks! A new reviewer! Yay!

HoneyX5-452 – Thanks! Don't worry; this is definitely going to be MA. Biggs is just flirting with Max to get Alec riled up. And it's definitely working. LOL

L80bug – Thanks! You read the 6th book too? I knew before I read it who was gonna die. It was kinda obvious for me. LOL Or maybe it's just because I'm so obsessed that I knew. I read all of the books repeatedly, the 1st and 2nd 12 times! LOL

meri24 – Thanks! About 510 and Mina… damn, you're too smart. That's all I've got to say. And hmm…

Gabbie760 – Thanks! A new reviewer! Hurray!

Gamegirl452 – Thanks!

Iridescent Twilight – Thanks! LOL I know how much you hate Logan, you told me so in my "Whose Love" story, remember? He died in that story, in this one… I dunno. Don't want to give anything away. You'll just have to read on and see. LOL

NoAngell – Thanks! A new reviewer! You made my day! 510 is gonna be Biggs.

Kelzaa – Thanks! Yes, if you read my notes at the beginning, 510 is Biggs.

Cora – Thanks! About spelling Logan wrong, LOL Oh well. If I have the time, I'll go back and correct it. But since I don't care too much for Logan, I might not. Besides, Loan is a better name for him, don't ya think? Since he's all broke now. LOLZ

Aur – Thanks! There will be much more of Biggs flirting with Max to get Alec jealous, but he's not going to be the only one. LOL Dun dun dun…

Lotamoxie – Thanks! Yes, 510 is Biggs.

Alana84 – Thanks! Logan annoys me too. And about your Biggs/Mina comment, you'll just have to see… LOL

shygirl1 – Thanks!

Pillow of Doom – Thanks! LOL Love your pen name. Biggs and Max will definitely be friends.

Thanks you to everyone and please review to give me feedback! If you can, please check out my other stories, you might find them entertaining! –aod78


	8. Name Calling

A/N: After this, I won't be able to update until next week because I'm going away for awhile, but please review and give me feedback so that I can read it when I get back. Hope you like this!

* * *

She was trapped.

On one side, a cocky transgenic who would probably report her for being out of bed, resulting in Renfro throwing her into Psy Ops again because she would probably think that Max was looking for a way to escape. On the other, the most terrifying creature she had ever seen, growling and snarling in her face.

She had no idea what to do so she stayed frozen in the spot she was in.

"Come on 452," 494 said. "Come towards me nice and easy. Don't give it a reason to attack you. Walk towards me slowly."

He was gesturing for her to come closer to him but she remained a statue in her spot, not moving towards either him or the creature.

_I swear this woman has a death wish, _494 thought as he edged closer to her. He craftily slid a knife out from the inside of his boot and hid it behind his back.

"Go back towards the stairs 452," he told her, moving closer to her.

She completely ignored him.

"You know, I am very aware that you don't like me, but now's not really the time to be impossible," he said, slipping in front of her.

She finally reacted, but not in a very positive way.

"I'm not impossible," she said indignantly and he groaned. Just his luck that she would start an argument with him in the middle of a dangerous situation.

"Just go up the stairs 452," he said, gripping tighter onto the knife.

"Don't boss me around!" she said. "Who do you think you are?"

"Someone who's trying to save your ungrateful bitchy ass," 494 said. "Would you just listen to me and go up the stairs? Or is it your dream to be eaten by a dog-man?"

He had momentarily turned his back on the anomaly who was watching them curiously.

"I don't need you to be my knight in military uniform, Alec," Max said. "I can handle myself just fine."

_Shit, did I just call him Alec?_

"Sure," 494 said rolling his eyes, not catching her slip. "What were you going to do, throw insults at him?"

"No," Max said. "And what are you doing out of bed anyway? Stalking me?"

494 took on an appalled look. "As if I don't have better things to do with my time than to follow you."

_Well, I don't really._

"And besides, I should be asking you that question," he said.

"That's none of your business," she shot at him.

He held up his hand, his other one hanging on loosely to the knife. "No need to bite my head off, I was just asking." He cast a quick glance at the dog-man. "Were you going to have a date with this thing?"

"No, why? Do you want to?" Max asked with a smirk on her face. It seemed that they both had forgotten about the anomaly actually being there until it stepped forward reaching out for 494. Max's eyes widened and she pushed him out of the way, both her and 494 ending up smacking into a bookcase, Max falling on top of him.

"See, you do care about me," he said. "Or is it just my ass?" He looked at their position and grinned. "Well, this is interesting."

She hit him on the head and jumped off him quickly. He got to his feet and stared at his knife, which was lying across the room having been thrown from his grasp when Max had pushed him aside.

They both looked at the dog-man.

"What do you think it would do if we insult it?" 494 asked her. "Do you think it would go away with its feelings hurt or get angry?"

She smacked him on the shoulder muttering something like, "Idiot."

"What?" he asked with an innocent look on his face. "It is what you do best."

The dog-man walked towards them and they backed up, but they were in a corner with no one else to go. They watched as he sniffed the air.

"Cat," he grunted. "Cat in your cocktail. You, upstairs people. X series."

"Holy crap, it talks," 494 said incredulously. "Can you believe this?"

"Yeah, we're X series," Max answered him. "X5. Don't hold the cat thing against us, it's not like we got to choose what went into making us."

"You're talking to it?" 494 said disbelievingly. "Have you completely lost it?"

Max started to walk forward but 494 grabbed her arm.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked in a harsh whisper.

"I don't think it wants to hurt us," Max said. "It could have done that a long time ago."

"So naturally you want to be friends," 494 said sarcastically. "What if it's just stalking its prey?"

She waved him off. "I don't think so."

He finally let go of her arm. "Fine. You want to get yourself killed? Be my guest. At least that way I'll stop getting bruises all over my body."

She gave him a dirty look and walked up to the dog-man. She reached out to touch its face and its teeth snapped at her, making her snatch her hand back. She tried again and after a little hesitation, it let her touch its face.

"Can I see your teeth?" she asked it. It flinched as she moved her hand but it bared its teeth.

Max finally withdrew her hand. "Cool."

"Yeah, until he uses them to shred you to bits," 494 muttered.

"Do you have a name or anything? A designation?" she asked it.

"No designation," it said. "First. No – no barcode. Joshua."

"Joshua's your name?" Max said. "Nice. I like it."

"What's – what's yours?" Joshua asked her.

Max opened her mouth to answer him when she remembered 494 was in the room and well within hearing range. She clamped her mouth shut then gritted out, "452."

494 noticed her hesitation to say her designation. Then he remembered something.

_There was a rumour a long time ago before they escaped that Unit 2 had given each other names._

There was another small twinge at the back of his mind and he replayed their conversation.

"_I don't need you to be my knight in military uniform, Alec."_

_Alec, _he thought. _She called me Alec. _

"Why don't you just go ahead and tell him your name 452?" 494 suggested. "I'd like to hear it too."

She didn't say anything.

"I don't have a name, just a designation," she said.

"Now 452, don't be shy," 494 prodded. "Tell us."

She thought for a moment. _Why should I hide my name from him, from any of them? It's who I am. If I'm going to be stuck in this hellhole, I'm not going to be stripped of my name. So what if it's a sign of insubordination? It's my name; they can't take it away from me._

"Max," she said finally. "My name's Max, Joshua."

"Max," Joshua repeated, drawing out the x like an s.

"Max," 494 said as well. "It suits you. But, question? Why did you call me Alec?"

She shrugged. "It's a name that I thought would suit you perfectly." She grinned. "Alec, smart aleck? Get it?"

"Yeah," 494, now christened Alec, said. "I like it."

She smiled wickedly. "Good. Because I had a bunch of other names that would have also suited you perfectly, but I don't think you would have liked them. Dick, Ass…"

Alec chuckled. "You sure have a thing for a certain area on my body Maxie."

He watched her whole face shine with pain before it turned to stone. She was no longer joking around, she was completely immobile.

"Don't call me that," she hissed and he stepped back.

"It's just a nickname," Alec said. "Why are you getting so fussy about it?"

Memories flashed inside Max's head at top speed.

"_I don't want to get snatched up by the Nomalies, Ben."_

"_You won't if you be good and believe in the Blue Lady, Maxie."_

"_We never should have left Maxie, everything made sense there."_

"_You're like a wolf in sheep's clothing, Maxie."_

"_Come on Maxie! Don't tell me you've forgotten that day."_

"_What's the matter Maxie? You afraid to remember?"_

"_This is for you Maxie. So you finally understand what it is that I'm doing."_

Alec watched Max's eyes glaze over and he waved a hand in front of her face. "Uh, Max?"

"Ben," she whispered.

He looked at her with a frown on his face. She had called him that name in the mess hall the first time they had met. Why was she calling him that again?

"No Max, I'm Alec," he said. "Are you okay?"

She finally snapped out of her trance.

"Just don't ever call me that, you understand?" she said hotly.

_I can't hear him call me that. Not without seeing Ben. He's not Ben. Not Ben. He's 494. Alec. Not Ben._

"Who's Ben? Why do you keep calling me that?" Alec asked.

"It's nothing. Just forget about it," Max said. She looked at Joshua.

"We gotta blaze big fella. The people upstairs get real angry when we're not in our beds," she told him.

"You blaze little fella," Joshua said.

"I'll come back tomorrow," Max said. "I promise."

"Wait, you'll what?" Alec said. "Are you kidding?"

"I never asked you to come with me," she snapped. "And don't think about telling Renfro I was out of bed or I'll kick your ass."

Alec sighed. "Always with the ass, huh?" he joked, but he didn't get her usual reaction. She remained stoic and walked swiftly up the stairs. After casting Joshua a little wave, he followed hurriedly.

He saw her disappearing form down the hallway and blurred to catch up.

"Leave me alone," she said loudly.

"Wake all of Manticore up, why don't you?" Alec said. He caught her arm. "What went on with you back there?"

She swung around to meet his gaze. "Leave me alone Alec. You wouldn't understand."

"Try me," he said. "I'm not as inhuman as you may think."

"Just go away," she said, and wrenching her arm from his grip, she blurred to her cell.

He stayed in the middle of the hallway, wondering what the hell had just happened, when a new, warm feeling began to grow inside him. He smiled.

He had a name.

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked this. I'm sorry it was shorter than usual, but I wanted to get at least another chapter out before I went away. Please review and give me feedback. And keep your eye out for an Alec standalone which should be coming out soon, either today or when I get back, called "What's In a Name".

Thanks to my wonderful reviewers who make me so happy –

elle6778 – Thanks! At first I was gonna have Max run towards Joshua, just for fun, but I thought that would be kinda stupid since she feared Nomalies all her life. LOL And 494 definitely has a radar tracking Max, except his radar is called hormones. LOL

Ro – Thanks!

Pillow of Doom – Thanks! LOL Loved reading your review. Glad to know you think I'm so amazing. LOL Sorry the update was slower this time; I had some stuff to do this week.

Athena80 – Thanks! I've got my eye on Biggs for Mina, but she has a little problem from the past that's gonna roughen things up a bit. After all, you can't have a romance without drama. LOL

Random Rose – Thanks! About Biggs and Mina, all I have to say is that you're psychic. LOL Logan sure will have a shock when he meets Alec later on in this fic. Ooh, the jealousy, the Logan-bashing… LOL

meri24 – Thanks!

GiRl MaGe – Thanks!

Iridescent Twilight – Thanks! I would also love it if Logan could move on with his stupid, unworthy life, but then again, I need someone for Alec to pick on later, and Logan is just my prime target. LOL I was watching my season 2 DVDs a few days ago and I was watching Logan die after Max infected him. Pity he keeps surviving. LOL

shygirl1 – Thanks!

HoneyX5-452 – Thanks!

Gabbie760 – Thanks! Don't worry; lots of stuff will happen before the take down of Manticore. Some missions, some breeding stuff… LOL Okay, I'm not giving away anything more.

Aur – Thanks!

suenooneus – Thanks! A new reviewer makes my day.

messymissy – Thanks! I made Mina 'cause I thought that it would be good for Max to have someone like her so that she can relate to her. And the others in the unit will slowly develop into more important characters instead of just passing ones.

w1cked angel – Thanks! Sorry I didn't get Max to thank him, she might in the next chapter once she realizes he was trying to protect her. But that's just typical Max. Hates having to thank people and realizes things too late. LOL About the review box, I'm so sorry. 10 minutes? God, I don't know how you lived through that. My computer's really slow so I know how it feels to wait for stuff to move, and I go absolutely nuts. LOL But I appreciate you losing 10 minutes of your life to review. LOL Thanks again!

Alana84 – Thanks!

AngelKougaeri – Thanks! A new reviewer! Yay!

lisa – Thanks! I'm so happy to get a new reviewer!

Thanks so much to everyone and please give me some feedback that I can read when I get back! Electronic hugs and kisses everyone, aod78


	9. Seizing Memories

A/N: Hey guys, I'm back! I hope you like this chapter. Please review and give me some feedback.

* * *

Over the next few days Max ignored Alec completely, always managing to disappear before he came up to her or seeming immersed in whatever she was doing at the time. It was driving him insane; he had the incomprehensible urge to be near her, to be able to talk to her, or in their case, argue with her. Several times Alec had snuck out at night to go down to the basement to see if she was there, but every time Joshua had told him that he had just missed her. She had made sure to go at different times so that Alec wouldn't be able to pick up a pattern and show up at the same time she was there, and it was frustrating him to no end. He didn't understand his reaction to her and for that matter, didn't exactly want to. Heaven forbid he should analyze why he was feeling this way and find something he didn't want to find. Finally, he had peaked. He would find her and talk to her about what had happened a few days earlier, and this time he wouldn't let her run away from him.

He had just finished up dinner when he saw her dart out of the mess hall, so he rose to follow.

"Hey buddy, where are you going?" 510 asked him. "I thought we were going to shoot some pool in the rec room."

"Not today 510," Alec answered distractedly. "I need to do something."

510 watched 494 quickly dispose of his meal tray and scurry off. Something went off in his head and he scanned the mess hall until he found a golden blonde head at a table in the back corner. He searched the rest of the table but one fiery brunette was missing.

510 rolled his eyes. "Great, I've got a lovesick C.O. chasing after some girl."

He watched as 663 left the table and 839 sat alone. He grinned and made his way over to her table.

* * *

Max made her way to the library and sat down beside an open window. The library was almost always completely empty after dinner; most people didn't want to spend their rec time reading.

She watched the rain slowly fall outside. She had always loved watching the rain because for some reason it calmed her. Maybe because the raindrops shared the samelife.

_Coming out of the sky and forever falling, not knowing where and when you're gonna land._

She traced a raindrop against the window pane with her fingertips. She had been thinking a lot about Ben recently, and what she had done. When all those memories had come flowing back to her, memories she didn't want to have, ones she had buried so far deep inside herself she thought they were gone, she felt an overwhelming sense of pain and guilt. Loss and regret.

_Ain't regrets a bitch, _she thought.

She missed Ben so much that it hurt, but it hurt even more knowing that it had been she who had taken away his life. Granted, he had asked her to, but she still didn't have to do it. She never should have fought with him; she should have tried to reason with him, or at least get him out of the woods before she fought with him. At least that way, there might have been a chance he wouldn't be dead. She could have gotten him a psychiatrist, gotten him some help to make him the beloved brother he had always been to her.

_But no, I took the easy way out. I killed him, then saved myself. All because I was too coward to go back. And what good did it do me? I still ended up back here, and I killed another brother in the process. Maybe it was always my fate to stay in Manticore, so that I wouldn't be able to hurt any more people._

"_Fight them Maxie, promise me you'll fight them."_

_Then again, I can't cop out. I have to keep fighting, I have to get out of here. If not for myself then for Zack. He died so that I could live. I won't fail him._

She shook slightly, and at first she thought it was froma seizure, but then she figured out that it was just from pain. She bit down on her lip to keep the sound of her crying from escaping, as tears slowly slid quietly down her face. She felt so alone. She had lost those who loved her and even though she was starting to have friends here, like Mina, they didn't understand.

_Well, how could they. I never told them. They think it was easy on the outside, but in truth, it was almost even more lonely out there than it is here. I almost miss the barracks; at least I was with my family. Out there, I was always hunted and in hiding. _

She shook even more and she started feeling small tremors inside her body. She knew a seizure was coming on and she looked around worriedly. She couldn't let someone see her like this and bring her to med bay. They'd cut her up just like they did to Jack.

_Flashback_

_Young Max quietly walked in the halls and peeked in through a window in med bay's door. She saw her brother lying naked on a surgical table with "doctors" standing around him, cutting him up. Her eyes widened as she saw Lydecker standing there, just sipping his coffee as if nothing bad was happening. She snuck back into the barracks and lay in her bed until she felt her hand shaking. She raised it up slightly to see it quivering, and then hid it. She couldn't let them see that she had the shakes too, or they would cut her up. She wouldn't let them take her. She wouldn't._

_End Flashback_

Her head banged back against the wall and she let out a small gasp of pain. Tears flowed down her face even faster now. There was no Zack to hold her until they stopped or to kick out at a guard so that they couldn't take her. There was no Eva to protect her. No siblings gathered around trying to calm her down. She was all alone now. She shut her eyes and a small whimper passed through her lips. This was it. She felt like she was going to die, more from her pain than from her seizures.

"Holy fuck, what the hell's wrong with you?" a voice said, the owner of the voice rushing forward and holding her head with one hand so she wouldn't bang it anymore, the other trying to keep her from shaking.

_Damn it, he can't see me like this. Why couldn't he just stay away? Why couldn't he just leave me alone?_

"G-et the he-hell a-way fr-from me," she stuttered out angrily, trying to bat his arms away.

"Would you drop the tough bitch act for a moment?" Alec grunted, trying to hold her still. "What's wrong with you?"

"Ju-just go away!" she said, trying to free herself from him.

"Would you stop fidgeting?" he said. "You're not helping. I'll get you to med bay." He lifted her into his arms but she grabbed one of his with an iron grip.

"No!" she whispered insistently. "Do-don't br-bring me the-there!"

He was just going to ignore her and bring her to med bay where they could help her but he caught her eyes and stopped. They were pleading with him.

_Why is she so afraid of going to med bay? _He wondered.

"Please," she whispered. She could feel the walls closing in on her, the darkness enveloping her. She had no idea what to do, but she knew that she couldn't go to med bay. They'd hurt her, cut her up like Jack. So now she was pleading with the one person she wished would never see her like this. She didn't want him to see her weakness.

"Please," she said again, almost desperately. "Don't br-bring me th-there."

Alec bit his cheek and shifted her body in his arms. He felt the tremors subside slightly and wondered with relief if her seizure was stopping, but when he saw her eyes start to close he knew she was going to pass out. "Okay. Don't worry, it'll be okay."

Max looked into his hazel eyes and felt the same calmness she had felt when she had looked into them the fateful day that they had met.

_Safety, _her mind whispered, right before she sank into unconsciousness.

* * *

Mina scowled as she saw 510 sit down across from her and give her a cheeky grin. She pointedly ignored him and continued to eat her food.

"You sure like to eat, don't you? Better watch out there though, you wouldn't want to ruin your nice figure," 510 said, letting his eyes roam until he felt a muffin smack into his face.

He caught it as it was falling away from his face and ate a bit.

"Yum, this is good. Thanks so much for sharing," he said.

"You're such an ass. Do you get it from 494?" Mina asked.

510 put on a hurt look. "You don't think I can be an ass all by myself? Besides, I don't know why you think I'm so bad. 452 doesn't mind me."

_Because she's too busy thinking about 494, _they both thought.

"Speaking of 452, what the hell did 494 do to her?" Mina asked angrily. "She's been acting weird the past few days, always staying to herself and being quiet, shutting all of us out."

"So he did something, huh?" 510 mused. "That must be why he rushed out after her awhile ago."

Mina started to get to her feet but he grabbed her arm and yanked her back down and she glared at him.

"Relax. I'm sure 452 can take care of herself," 510 said. "Sheesh, you females sure are protective of each other."

"I'm just not going to let my friend get hurt by a stupid male who thinks with only one part of his anatomy," Mina shot.

"From what I've seen, 452 will probably kick his ass if he gets out of line. Now relax."

She glared at him.

"Whoa, someone's tense," 510 said. He smirked. "Would you like a massage?"

Mina grinned and stretched slowly in a very cat-like way. "Yes actually." She leaned forward until they were almost nose to nose.

"Just not from you," she said, then picked up her tray and walked away, leaving 510 sitting by himself.

"Well, that didn't go exactly the way I was picturing it," he said to himself.

* * *

Max woke up with her head throbbing and moaned softly, raising a hand to her temple and massaging it. Her eyes snapped open but she shut them immediately as the bright light blinded her and made her headache even worse.

"How're you feeling?" Alec asked and she groaned as everything came back to her.

_Great. I manage to avoid him for a few days then I get a seizure while I'm crying and to top it all off, Alec finds me. I must have been high when I said that Lady Luck was a friend. Scratch that. She's my enemy._

"Like crap," she answered truthfully. She opened her eyes slowly and they adjusted to the light. She looked around and saw that she was in her cell.

"It shows," he said with a small grin and she glared at him, sobering him up a little. "You're a little pale," he said.

The truth was that he had been scared shitless. He didn't know what it was about her that made him worry and made his heart pound, but he was scared when it took her so long to wake up. He had run back to his cell when the guards were making their rounds to tell them it was lights out, then he had blurred back to her cell and waited. When he saw her start to wake up, he let out a sigh of relief he hadn't even known he was holding. He had tucked her in and stroked her hair as he waited, silently praying that she would be all right. He was too preoccupied with caring for her that he forgot to be disturbed about the way he was feeling.

Max shrugged. "I'll be fine."

"You're still shaking a bit," he said. "Do you need anything?"

"Some milk would be nice, since it has tryptophan in it, but I'm okay," Max told him. She watched as he stood up. "Really, I'm fine."

He quietly opened the door and darted out. It seemed like only a few seconds before he returned.

"Got some from the mess hall," he said, handing her a glass which she took and drank gratefully.

"Got a thing for milk huh," Alec said.

"Does a body good," she replied, sipping the last of it.

"I'll say," he said, looking her over with a grin.

"Look," she said grudgingly, not looking at him. "Thanks. You know. For not bringing me to med bay and for taking care of me and stuff. And for the milk."

Alec smiled. "Do I get a kiss now?"

Max stared at him and a small smile played at her lips. "Come here and find out."

Happy at seeing the shocked look in his eyes, she moved closer to him and put her arms around his neck.

He leaned his head forward and as his breath moved onto her face it took all of Max's will not to give in and to do what she was going to do in the first place. His eyes were closed and she tilted her head back before swinging it forward and head-butting him.

"Hey!" he yelled, falling backwards clutching his head. "I knew it was too good to be true."

"The only kind of touching you'll get from me is of the violent kind, catch my drift?" Max said, clutching her head as well with a wince.

"That killed," Alec said.

"I think I hurt myself more than I hurt you," she said, flinching as she touched her head. "Ooh."

"I probably should get someone at med bay to look at this," he said. "That'll be interesting. When the nurse asks me how I got hurt I'll be like 'A bitchy X5 female wanted to practice her head-butting skills.'." He straightened up. "Why didn't you want to go there in the first place?"

She shrugged half-assedly, careful to keep her face in the smooth Manticore mask. "Don't like sterile environments."

"Oh come on," Alec said. "None of us do. We were all experimented on in there. But you seemed like you would've done anything than go there. Why?"

She was silent a moment then said, "My brother Jack or X5-417 had seizures. They took him away and cut him up. I'm not going to let that happen to me."

"I'm sorry," he said softly. She looked up at him and for once he had a serious expression on his face. His eyes weren't laughing.

"You should get back to your cell," she said.

"Aw, and I thought maybe I could stay here since we seem to be getting along so well. It'll be fun. So whaddaya say to having a sleepover? You know, we're both adults. I think we can share a bed."

She laughed humourlessly. "Too bad hon. You're sleeping in your own bed."

He pouted. "But I get cold at night."

"Well maybe you can warm yourself up tonight with a few guest visitors," she said.

He looked at her suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

She just smirked and shook her head. "You'll find out for yourself."

He got up and left, opening the door to his cell cautiously. He slumped when he saw what was inside and leaned against the doorway.

He saw the geckos and frogs all over his bed.

"Guess it's gonna be just me and you guys tonight, huh?" he said sighing.

* * *

A/N: I hope you like that. I wrote this chapter as soon as I got back. Please review and give me feedback! I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks to my wonderful reviewers –

lakergirl – It's awesome to have a new reviewer! Thanks!

Lotamoxie – Thanks! I just got back from vacation myself. LOL

lex2u – Thanks! Glad you like the end.

Alana84 – Thanks!

Aur – Thanks! I had to give Alec his name. It's just so tedious to have to write 494 all the time. LOL

Random Rose – Thanks! Can't wait until your next part in your series comes out. Bet it'll be great.

w1cked angel – Thanks! Well, she thanked him and almost kissed him. LOL Sry, that she didn't though.

Iridescent Twilight – Thanks! LOL You know, I was considering to write a fic called "Die Logan Die!" but I figured that I would probably get flamed for it. But if you write it, a short little funny one, I'll gladly review it. LOL

EnIgMa – It makes me so happy to have a new reviewer! Thanks!

shygirl1 – Thanks!

meri24 – Thanks!

4eva Jensen – Thanks! Ben did call her Maxie several times during Pollo Loco, but when he only called her Max I changed it to Maxie.

GiRl MaGe – Thanks!

HoneyX5-452 – Thanks!

elle6778 – Thanks! His name did mean a lot more because Max gave it to him. I'm actually going to do an Alec standalone about it.

calistra – Thanks!

Keep your eyes out for an Alec standalone called "What's In A Name". It should be coming out soon. Please give me some feedback everyone! Hugs and kisses, aod78


	10. The Naming Game

A/N: Hey everyone! Just to let you know, I've created an Alec standalone that I'm sure you'd like, I'm very proud of it. It's called "What's In A Name". And I just recently put out another MA fic called "Ooh Baby". Anyways, please R&R and give me feedback. Thanks!

Spoilers: Prodigy. Max went to a different conference on genetics where she met Lydecker. The stuff with the terrorist group and the boy never happened. She tried to talk to Tanaka but he was busy, so she went home. I know, lame filler, but you'll understand later.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The mission won't be boring, guys, I promise. Lots of opportunities for MA stuff. (Hint, hint) LOL

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Oh, and guess what? It's my 13th birthday! Yay! Bring on adolescence!

* * *

"Amphibians aren't really my thing, but thanks for the thought," Alec whispered as he passed Max to get to the head of the line for roll call.

"Anytime," Max whispered back, a small grin on her face. Last night had been somewhat of a turning point in their relationship. She wouldn't exactly call them friends, but it was an improvement from before.

"Eyes front!" the trainer shouted, and she stared forward as he took roll call.

"Unit 8, do not proceed to the gym as normal. You are to go to the briefing room," the trainer shouted once he was done roll call. They all saluted and left, whispering to each other.

"Do you think it's a mission?" 222 asked 048 excitedly. "We haven't been on one in awhile. It would be great to get out for a little bit, don't you think?"

048 gave her an amused glance. 222 was always full of energy and hyper, so everyone joked that she had kangaroo DNA in her, as she was always bouncing around.

"I wonder where it's going to be," 323 said, butting into their conversation. "Last mission I had was in Hawaii. God, that was bliss. There were the hottest girls walking around on the beaches there. I swear they could've been X5s."

At his remark Max noticed 025 scowl slightly and she hid a chuckle. It appeared that they weren't as unfeeling towards each other as Manticore would've liked.

"I wonder why 452 is being deployed as well," she caught 925 whispering. "Isn't she considered as a flight risk?"

Max cleared her throat. "I might be an '09er, 925, but my hearing is just as enhanced as yours is."

925 at least had the decency to look a little ashamed at being overheard and said no more.

"Why _are_ they letting me go?" Max asked Mina as they rounded a corner. "Aren't they afraid that I'll try to escape?"

"Maybe they're figuring that you can't jump a couple dozen X5s," Mina answered.

"Or maybe," Alec said, catching up to them, "they figure that you wouldn't want to leave my beautiful self, especially not with your obsession with my ass."

Max rolled her eyes and hit him on the shoulder. "There are finer specimens out there."

Alec widened his eyes in mock outrage. "Than mine? I think not."

"You're such an ass," Max said and Alec grinned.

"Told ya."

Mina watched their argument continue on as they rounded yet another corner and realized it lacked in the usual bite and was more playful than before when they were trying to hurt each other intentionally.

_I wonder what happened between them._

She was glad that they would be going on a mission; she needed to get out of Manticore, forget the memories that were held there. She needed something to focus her mind on so that she would not be distracted.

"_You're gorgeous, you know that?" _

"_I'll be fine, don't worry. They can't hurt me. Not while I think about you."_

"_No! Don't hurt him! Please! Stop hurting him!"_

"839?" Max asked with a frown on her face. She had just realized that Mina wasn't walking behind her and Alec anymore, and when she looked back Mina stood as frozen as a statue in the middle of the hall, her eyes completely glazed over until she called her designation.

"You okay 839?" 510 asked, coming up behind her. "What wrong?"

_Don't get hurt again. Push him away._

"Nothing," Mina said in a cold tone. She walked into the briefing room without sparing any of them a glance.

_What the hell just happened? _510 thought. _She been less bitchy to me lately and all of a sudden her voice is colder than Renfro's._

He looked at Max but she just shrugged.

"Don't look at me, I don't know," was all she said before disappearing into the briefing room as well.

"Women," Alec said. "Don't ever try to understand them. It'll give you a headache."

* * *

"A group of scientists has recently become curious about how the government diverts its funds. Too curious. They are wondering why so much money is being given to a VA hospital, and are digging deeper to find out. We can't risk this kind of exposure. You will be deployed in the field to go to a genetics conference that they are holding. After the conference there is a party then you will stay over at a hotel for a continuation of the conference the next day. You are to go there undercover as various scientists, reporters, etc, and you will determine how much these people have uncovered. If they know too much, you are to eliminate them. Is that understood?" Renfro said.

Something tugged at Max's stomach when she heard the word _eliminate_. She wasn't sure if she could do it. Kill a bunch of innocent people.

Renfro looked straight at Max when she said that, almost as if she knew what she was thinking. It was a test, Max knew. Could she do it? Or would she fail?

"Failure is not an option soldiers," Renfro said. "It could cost us everything if they find out about Manticore. We're all counting on you, don't let us down."

She stood silent for a moment, evaluating each of them before she spoke again.

"Your CO will be given the mission specs momentarily," Renfro said. "CO, 494, SIC… 452."

Max's whole body went rigid and she got sticker shock. It took a moment before the words processed in her brain and she understood what was happening. She looked at her unit mates. Alec looked surprised but amused, Mina looked happy, Biggs looked momentarily stunned but indifferent and the rest had astonished looks on their faces. Max felt a small feeling of satisfaction course through her.

"You will be deployed at 0800 tomorrow, so I suggest you all get some rest. All classes are cancelled today except for hand to hand combat, tactics and weapons to prepare you for the mission. We do not expect this to be complicated, but you must be ready for whatever situation that can arise. Understood?"

There was a chorus of "Yes, ma'am."

Renfro nodded. "Any questions?"

Everybody remained silent.

"Very well. You may go to breakfast. Only 494 and 452 shall remain."

Everyone filed out in a march, several casting Max curious looks as they left. Mina gave her a small wink when Renfro wasn't looking and headed out.

As soon as the door was shut, Renfro pulled out a folder and handed it to Alec.

"The mission specs, 494. Go over them thoroughly, I don't want any slip-ups," Renfro said. There seemed to be a hidden message though, as Max saw Alec's eyes flicker for a second before they became blank again.

_Did something happen? Did the great 494 screw up a previous mission?_

"What will be available to us?" Alec asked.

"Whatever you require 494. Give the weapons trainer a list of what you'll need and he'll get it. Everything will be at your disposal as I want this to go smoothly and without any problems," Renfro said. She looked at the both of them carefully.

"This mission will involve teamwork. All of your soldiers should be able to work flawlessly with anyone, not a selected few. Make sure there are no tensions to screw this up," she said, her words directed to Alec but looking at Max. "You are all the same now, all equal. You may go."

Just as Max turned to leave, she heard Renfro say, "Don't disappoint me 452."

She kept her face neutral and left.

"So, this should be fun," Alec said as they walked down the hall. "Your first mission since you came back to Manticore. Don't screw up."

The last comment stung her. She thought that maybe he wasn't like the others because he wasn't so hostile, but maybe she had misjudged him.

_I wish OC was here. She was always a good judge of character._

Alec noticed her silence, saw the pained look on her face and immediately regretted saying it. He didn't know what had compelled him to say it; it just popped out of his mouth. Maybe he had a jealousy issue; Max had only been at Manticore for a few months and she was already SIC? Maybe he felt threatened by her, by her position. For all his life Alec had been the best soldier at Manticore, well, at least after 599 had escaped. He wasn't going to let some '09er take his place.

_What the hell am I thinking? I'm still thinking of her as an '09er, not as one of us. I still think of her as a traitor. No, not a traitor. Just as a… threat? Where the hell is this coming from? It's not like I'm actually _jealous _of her. I'm at the top, she can't beat me. Or at least I won't let her; I can't fail, not again. I can't lose my position. If I screw up I won't be given another chance._

He was thinking as 494, not Alec, because Alec would never have had these thoughts. 494 needed to assess the threat, and eliminate it.

_I need to be better than her._

Alec shook his head to clear the disturbing thoughts. He had no idea where the need to be better had come from, but he felt bad for what he had been thinking and even worse for what he had said.

"Max," he said, catching her shoulder. He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean – it just came out."

"No, I understand. I'm an '09er. All we do is screw up right?" Max snapped.

"That's not what I – " Alec started but Max didn't give him a chance to answer. She blurred away.

"I always thought that talking was a sign of intelligence," Alec mumbled. "Now I know it just shows people's massive stupidity."

* * *

"What do you want?" Mina asked 510 as he sat down opposite her. Her tone was considerably warmer than before and that reassured him a little that at least he wasn't going to get his head bitten off.

"What happened back there?" he asked her. "You were acting weird."

"What are you, a psychiatrist? I got enough of that from the people at Psy Ops, I don't need you analyzing my behaviour too," Mina said. She froze as she realized her mistake.

"Psy Ops?" 510 asked. "When were you in there? Before you were put in our unit?"

"_Get out here for me, okay 839? Promise me that even if I don't make it, you'll still get out of here."_

"_You have committed treason 839. You will be severely punished."_

_Mission_

_Duty_

_Discipline_

"839?" 510 asked.

_What the hell is wrong with her? It's like she has a split personality._

Luckily for Mina, Max came storming in, grabbed her tray of food and slammed it down on the table, cutting off their conversation.

"What's eating you?" 510 asked, chuckling slightly at his pun. "Eating you, get it?"

"Hilarious," Max grit out.

510 put his hands to the side in a "What the hell?" gesture. "What is it with all you females lately? The way you're acting, it wouldn't surprise me if you were spawned from Renfro herself."

"You'd have known that, 510, if we had sprouted horns," 104 said, sitting down on Max's other side, surprising her. "This is now a girl's table. Beat it."

510 rolled his eyes and moved to another table, muttering something like, "That time of the month again."

"We don't get that, you moron, we go into heat," 104 shouted at him. She looked at Max and smiled. "The men in our unit are all idiots."

Max watched as more of the females in their unit joined their table, all chatting with each other amiably.

"What, you guys don't think this table is infected with traitor's disease anymore?" Max asked.

"Look. You're part of our unit now so shunning you isn't exactly going to do anything except screw this mission up. Besides, Renfro says you're one of us now. We might as well try to get along," 163 said, taking a bite into her apple.

"As if you could do that," 274 scoffed. "You're the resident bitch."

"Since when was that position taken from me?" Mina asked and Max chuckled.

"Since you two started hanging out," 274 said, indicating her and Max. "Thank you, she was starting to become unbearable."

"Well, watch out. Max may steal your position. She's the supreme queen of bitchiness," Mina said laughing. Max's eyes widened and she shot Mina a glare.

"Who's Max?" 663 asked curiously.

"Oops," Mina said. "Sorry."

"Max is…" Max said hopelessly until she remembered what she had thought before down in the basement.

_Why should I hide my name from them? Any of them. It's who I am._

"Max is… my name," she said. "See, when I was growing up, my unit and I figured out that people on the outside didn't have numbers, but names. So… we named ourselves. It made us feel more… human."

She looked around the table, testing their reaction and found most of them nodding their heads so she breathed a sigh of relief she didn't know she had been holding.

"That's insubordination," 753 said and Max looked at her worriedly, wondering if she'd tell. 753 kept a stony face for a minute, and then the Spanish beauty broke out into a smile. "Cool. Let's all have names. We can use them on our mission."

Max watched as all the others nodded eagerly at that idea.

"At least our names would actually fit us," 104 said. "Then we wouldn't have to have stupid ones that we don't like."

"Well, my name is Mina," Mina said. She made a face and grinned. "Because of my reputation for being mean." The others laughed and other transgenics sitting at other tables looked over curiously, so they kept their voices down.

"Hey look! There's 494. We should name him," 222 said as he walked into the mess hall.

Mina noticed as Max visibly tensed and didn't look at him although it was obvious he was trying to get her attention.

"Did something happen?" Mina asked her and Max shook her head signaling, "Not now."

"He already has a name," Max said. "Alec. Give you three guesses to figure out why."

"So what name do you think I should get?" 222 asked in her usual excited manner.

"Calm down girl before you bust something. Damn, I don't know how you've gone so long without burning out," 025 said. Max smiled wistfully; 025 was liked Cindy in so many ways it hurt.

"I vote she gets Bubbles," 729 said, speaking up for the first time.

"I'm not going to be named Bubbles!" 222 said indignantly.

729 threw her hands up. "Just a thought."

"How about Allegra?" 753 said. "It means exuberantly cheerful in Latin. Or Larissa which means cheerful in Greek. Oh! How about Risa? It's part of Larissa and it means laughter." She noticed all the faces staring at her and shrugged. "I always loved languages so I studied them more, especially Latin."

"Yeah, I like Risa," 222 said.

"Risa it is," Max said.

"Did you know that Max means greatest in Latin?" 753 asked and Mina smirked.

"Figures."

"How about me?" 163 said.

"Is there any name in Latin that stands for bitch?" 729 said snickering.

"Well," 753 said thoughtfully. "Delilah means brooding in Hebrew."

"How about Lila?" 163 said.

"Suits you perfectly," the Italian 274 said.

"You should be Samantha," Max spoke up suddenly. "I heard somewhere that it stood for listener in some language. You always listen to people."

"You know what would be funny? If 273 was Sam. That would be so cute. Twins called Sam and Samantha," Mina said.

"Bite me," Samantha said.

On and on it went, most of their names coming from various languages, names that suited their personality or what they liked to do. 729 became Nala because she had remembered the name from the Lion King when she had watched the movie posing as a schoolteacher and liked it, 104 became Prudence or "Prue" because it meant intelligence and she specialized in strategies, 663 became Justine because it meant just, 025 became Darcy because it meant dark and finally the cunning linguist 753 became Paige because she said she wanted to be young forever.

"Well, don't we sound awesome," Nala said. "This'll just be our secret, though."

"A girl's secret," Darcy agreed.

"Though we should name some of the guys later just between us. It'll be fun," Mina said.

Risa looked at her watch. "Guys, we better get going or we'll be late for tactics."

They all disposed of their trays and giggling, walked out of the mess hall, Max momentarily forgetting her anger and hurt towards Alec.

* * *

"What do you think they were talking about?" 510 asked Alec. He grinned. "Let me guess what you're gonna say." He cleared his throat. "Me, of course," he said in a perfect imitation of Alec's voice. He frowned when he saw his friend wasn't laughing.

"What's up with you '94?" 048 asked.

"Girl problems," 323 said to the rest of the table. "It's written all over his face."

"So what did you and 452 get up to?"510 asked.

"What makes you think it had anything to do with her?" Alec asked and all the guys at the table laughed.

"Oh, nothing really. You're only carving the number 452 into your napkin with your butter knife," 273 said and Alec looked down, noticing that he had in fact done that. He groaned.

"Women are complicated '94, don't go trying to figure them out," 369 said. He put his hand out and slowly moved it through the air. "You move through the space that is their mind, then…" He dropped his hand like a sack of potatoes. "You fall into the dark abyss. You're better off not trying to understand them, for your own sanity."

"Just out of curiosity, what did you do?" 528 asked.

"Why do you just naturally assume _I _did something?" Alec asked him wearily.

528 shrugged. "According to women, it's always our fault."

Alec shook his head. "Never mind. I'll fix it on my own."

"You better or else the mission might get screwed up because of personal problems," 329 said. He gave a pat on the back. "Good luck."

They all stood up and left for tactics.

"Thanks for all the encouragement," Alec muttered. "Not."

* * *

The rest of the day passed by fairly quickly for Max because of the happiness she felt inside. She felt like she was actually starting to become one of their unit, at least with the girls. Sure, some of them were still a little tense around her, but it seemed like what happened in the past was forgotten. She was no longer an outsider; she was starting to fit in.

_Zack, even though I know you probably would have wished that I had already escaped, I know you would be proud of me. I will escape… eventually. _

The problem with feeling connections to her newfound friends is that she could no longer leave them. She had already grown too attached to Mina and wouldn't leave without her. Hell, she didn't want to leave any of them. Not Biggs or… Alec.

The hurt that had been washed away earlier came back full force and her face hardened.

_How dare he act superior to me?_

She would show him. She would work harder, train harder, until she was just as good – no better, than he was. People would no longer see her as an '09er, but as the best.

Unbeknownst to her, that was exactly what 494 was afraid of.

* * *

"You're good, 452, but not quite up to par with the rest of your unit mates yet," Trainer Hilt said after she had just finished fighting Paige. "Alright, class is over. Proceed to the mess hall for dinner."

Frustrated at being beat in hand to hand combat again, Max clenched her fists and walked off, trying to cool herself down.

_Classes won't be enough. I need to do some extra training to catch up on what I've missed out on. _

An idea occurred to her and she sped up to catch up to Risa and Darcy.

"Hey guys," Max said. "Look, can I ask you guys a favour?"

"Shoot," Darcy said.

"You both have shark DNA right?" Max asked.

"Yeah," Risa answered. "We both slept last night so we're good for about another 3 days. Why?"

"I want to catch up on fighting," Max explained. "If you'll help me train at night, I can get better. Those hour and a half classes aren't enough."

"Extra fighting?" Darcy said. "Cool. I'll do it."

"That's because you'll do anything to pick a fight with someone," Risa said laughing. "I'm all for it too, though."

A grin spread over Max's face. "Thanks guys."

_Just you watch, Alec. I'll cream your ass in no time.

* * *

_

A/N: So, I hope you liked that. Since it was my birthday, some unseen force possessed me to write on for 14 pages! LOL Please give me some feedback. BTW, for anyone interested, since I don't have a web page because I don't know how to make one, if anyone wants to search for pictures for my characters and post them on your own website, tell me. I'll give you descriptions of my characters and you'll have full credit for it. Anyways, feedback please!

Love my wonderful reviewers –

L80bug – Thanks!

meri24 – Thanks!

Alana84 – Thanks! As my original characters develop, there will be more relationships. The main ones are obviously Max/Alec and Biggs/Mina. And obviously Max couldn't kiss him, that would go totally against her "no thanking anyone" policy. LOL

GiRl MaGe – Thanks!

latinapotterfan – It's awesome to have a new reviewer! Thanks!

Mystic Fayth – Thanks! Love your new penname, it's cool. Can't wait for "Dreaming" to come out!

Aur – Thanks!

Pillow of Doom – Thanks! LOL About your visions concerning Biggs, well… LOL

Iridescent Twilight – Thanks! About the Logan bashing fic, I'll consider writing it. I promise I will eventually do it; it's just that I've gotten way over my head with too many stories. LOL

shygirl1 – Thanks! LOL I bet everyone wishes they were in the lizards' place.

bella1812 – Thanks! Wonderful to have a new reviewer!

Lotamoxie – Thanks! Alec does know about the seizures, but since they all had that procedure done to get rid of them, he doesn't know how to control them. I guess maybe it kinda slipped his mind that Max didn't have the procedure too, so that's why he didn't exactly know what was wrong. Max and Alec's friendship increased in the last chapter, but it bumped back a little in this one. Just trying to get the road kind of rocky. Don't worry, it'll move forward again. But you know how it is with two stubborn transgenics who won't admit they like each other… LOL

mell11 – Thanks!

4eva Jensen – Thanks!

w1cked angel – Thanks! I will bring breeding partners in, but later. And don't worry, it will be interesting. Who knows who'll get who. Dun dun dun… LOL Lots of MA stuff gonna happen during the mission.

calistra – Thanks!

elle6778 – Thanks! Stay tuned for lots of MA stuff happening during the mission. LOL

Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! Please give me feedback. Luv ya'll, aod78


	11. Bombs On Heels

A/N: Please check out "Ooh Baby". It's MA and I'm sure you'll like it. Please give me feedback everyone!

* * *

Max woke up with a smile on her face despite the fact that she had only had an hour of sleep. She felt a sense of satisfaction when she thought about all that she had accomplished with Darcy and Risa the night before.

_Not quite top of the line yet, but definitely improving._ _I learn so much faster when it's not Trainer Hilt's monotonous voice droning on._

She had felt so good that she wasn't quite so angry at Alec anymore.

_Especially when I'll be able to kick his ass really soon._

She hadn't completely forgotten about it though, and she intended to let him know that.

A smile graced her lips as she stood up to take a quick shower before roll call and then after that they would be off.

* * *

Alec lay in his bed, thinking about the only person he had been able to think about for the past few days.

_Max._

He hated the way she got under his skin, made him get out of control. When he was around her every rational thought left his mind and he acted without thinking, sometimes just teasing her, but sometimes doing things that were so incredibly stupid and mean that he regretted them the moment he had done them. He hated the way that she confused him, about her feelings and about his own. He hated how his heart started to pound at the sight of her and how a smile of hers turned him to jelly. He hated all these things because they put him off-balance, and that was one thing he couldn't afford to be.

_Soldier my ass, _he thought. _I can't even handle a girl._

He had an hour before they would be off on the mission, and he had to make things right with her before then.

He grumbled as he got out of his bed.

_Why do I get the feeling that I'll have to do something humiliating to get back on her good side?

* * *

_

"I'm getting closer, I know it," Logan muttered to himself.

"Getting closer to what?" Asha asked, letting herself into his penthouse.

"To Manticore's location," Logan answered. _I bet Max is just waiting for me to get her out. _

"Don't you think you should rest a little?" Asha asked. "You look completely worn out Logan. Did you get any sleep last night?"

"I need to find Max," he said and he heard her sigh. "She's not dead Asha. I just know she isn't."

"Whatever you say," Asha replied tiredly.

_God, doesn't he think about anything than Manticore and Max?_ _Everything points to her being dead._

"I'm going to save her Asha. Manticore isn't going to win," Logan said. _I miss you Max, and I know you miss me just as much. We'll be together again soon, don't worry.

* * *

_

_I haven't thought about Logan in such a long time, _Max thought. _I don't even know if I feel the same way about him anymore. _Max stopped in her tracks. _What the hell am I thinking? I love Logan. I always have._

_Have,_ _as in past tense, _a nagging voice at the back of her mind said. _Think about it. Have you ever really loved Logan?_

Max was so caught up in her thoughts that she walked right into someone. She would've fallen on her ass if that someone hadn't grabbed her wrist. She looked up, saw a pair of hazel eyes, and nearly groaned.

_Isn't it bad enough that I see him in my mind all the time? _She thought. _No, he has to be everywhere I go too, just to confuse me even more._

"Max, we need to talk," Alec said. "Please. I'm sorry about what I said the other day. It was completely out of line."

Max looked stunned. _Did he just admit that he did something wrong?_

_What the hell? Did I just admit that I did something wrong? If I didn't know better, I'd say she was gifted with telecoercion and messing with my mind._

"Max?" Alec asked. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't good enough," Max said, a bit of her anger coming back. _He's not going to get off the hook with just that. _

"Then what is?" he asked. "Look, we need to resolve this before the mission so that things don't get screwed up."

A wave of hurt passed through Max. "And here I was thinking that you actually did care about my feelings. But you don't. It's just because of the mission that you're apologizing, isn't it? You're C.O., and if this gets screwed up because of tensions it'll be pinned on you."

"That's not true," Alec said, shaking his head. "I really didn't mean it."

"Ain't regrets a bitch?" she said. In the back of her mind she vaguely registered the rest of their unit encircling them, watching.

She turned to leave but he caught her arm once more. This time though, she wasn't having any of it. She wrenched her arm from his grip and pushed him to the ground, and then she got up and rested a foot on his chest so that he couldn't move.

"On second thought," Max mused, "there is a way to redeem yourself."

Alec, unlike Max, was very aware of the amused looks their unit was passing around.

"What?" he asked, knowing full well that his dignity was going to be taking a one-way trip away in a few moments.

Max grinned dangerously. "Say I'm the best," she said simply.

Alec looked at her incredulously.

_The woman can change moods in a nanosecond._

"What?" he asked.

"Say I'm the best," Max stated again. Alec was beginning to get uncomfortable as he heard the snickers around them.

Alec opened his mouth. It was a simple task, yet why was it so hard?

"Your inflated ego won't let you say it, 494?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

"You're acting childishly 452," Alec said and Max laughed.

"Maybe, but you're not moving until you say it," she said. Alec tried to karate chop her leg but she smacked his hand away.

"I'm waiting," she sing-songed.

Alec clenched his teeth and finally grit it out. "You're… the best. Now move your damn leg."

Max grinned and stepped off of him. "That wasn't so hard," she said. "You're forgiven."

Alec sat up and massaged his chest as she walked away.

"You're so whipped, man," 510 laughed.

A fist greeted his face as Alec walked away.

"It was just a joke buddy," he said through a bloody nose. He looked up and saw Mina standing a way off, smirking slightly.

"Nurse?" he called to her. "I need some… _personal_ treatment."

She walked up to him. "Sure." She decked him and he lay on the floor once again.

"At the rate this is going, we're going to be best friends," he said to the floor.

* * *

"I can't wait until we get there!" Risa said excitedly.

"You have so much energy you could light up all of America," 528 said.

"But wouldn't that be a good thing?" Justine said. "Then we'd never have to worry about brownouts."

The whole lot of them burst out laughing at that.

They were riding in the back of a van, not afraid to converse as the old bat who was driving was practically deaf and probably wouldn't have cared what they were saying anyway. The only thing they had to worry about with her was if she was going to run them off the road.

Max had a faraway look in her eyes. The mission was in Seattle, where her whole life had been before she had been recaptured. She knew Renfro had sent their unit in intentionally; it was another test of hers. Would Max succumb to the desire of returning to her old life, or would she be strong enough to stay away?

Max looked around the van at the laughing transgenics. They had become just as much her family as Original Cindy, Sketchy, Herbal, Kendra and Logan. If there was a time when she had to choose between them, she didn't know what she would do.

_And people say having lots of family is a good thing, _she thought. _It only creates problems. _

The only way she would leave Manticore was if they would all escape with her. Although she knew that none of them actually _wanted _to stay at Manticore, she knew that escape was a foreign concept to the majority of them.

"452?" Prue asked. "You in there?"

"Yeah," she said, snapping to attention. "I'm fine, I'm just thinking about something."

"I know you have a certain obsession with me, 452, and I'm flattered, really I am," Alec said. "Still, thinking so much about me is healthy only to a certain extent. I wouldn't mind if you took a break once in a while."

"Please," Max said rolling her eyes. "We're in a van full of X5s. Who says I'm thinking about you?"

Alec frowned for a moment, then relaxed. "Nah. I mean, who can resist my cute face?" He pouted and Max couldn't help it. She laughed.

Alec's face relaxed into a smile. _Mission accomplished._

Paige picked up some I.D. badges in a box beside her. "It's kind of nice that we get to choose our names for this mission. All we have to do is put them on these."

369 frowned. "What does it matter what our names are?"

"Well, didn't you ever want to have a name that could be, you know, just yours? One that people can actually acknowledge you by?" Justine asked shyly.

215 shrugged. "It would be kind of cool I guess. But isn't that insubordination?"

"Oh please," Lila said. "After all the hell we've gone through, a name isn't going to do anything."

"I'm game," 273 said. The others nodded and Paige brought out her language knowledge again.

"I already know what my name is going to be," 323 said with a grin. "Richie."

"Figures, with his obsession with money," Nala said. "After Alec, he's probably got the most deals running with the guards."

"I want to be Travis," 329 said. "I've always liked that name."

"Hunter," 215 said. "I've always been good at following tracks."

"You should be Fox," Mina said to 528. "You're as sly as one at least."

"I'm going to be… Biggs," 510 said with a grin towards Mina. "Don't think I have to explain that one.

"Now, what could represent trouble?" Risa said, looking at 925.

"We could name him troll," 420 offered and 925 glared at him.

"You're always making trouble, so it's kind of like hexing people," Paige said. "How about we call you Hex?" 925 laughed in agreement.

They continued throwing names around, some glaring at others for their outlandish suggestions. 369 soon became Kyle because it meant handsome, 048 became Peter because it meant rock and nothing ever seemed to faze him, 420 became Miles because it meant soldier, 426 became Andrew for strong and 273 became Thomas which meant twin.

"Alright," Fox cheered. "We don't have to use those stupid designations anymore. At least not together."

"Hey guys," Thomas said. "ETA's an hour."

Max's stomach churned. "Great," she gulped. "Just great."

* * *

As they entered Seattle, Max spied the great Space Needle, her haven when she needed a place to sort out her thoughts.

_I definitely need to now. About my unit, my friends, Logan and… Alec. _

She couldn't put it off any longer. She had finally admitted to herself, albeit grudgingly, that there was something about Alec that unsettled but excited her. Not that she'd let the cocky, smart-aleck transgenic know that.

"We'll be at the Sheraton hotel in 5 minutes," the driver said in a bored and nasal tone. "Gather your equipment. There are 5 bedrooms booked for you. Split yourselves up accordingly. Conference starts in 2 hours. Director Renfro says that – "

"Failure is not an option," they all chorused, before they burst out into fits of laughter.

"Yes, and to – "

"Not disappoint her. Manticore is depending on us to make sure that it will remain a covert operation," they all said in unison.

"Very good."

They all got out of the van and stretched their tired and sore muscles. They walked into the lobby and Kyle whistled.

"It makes the Pulse seem like a baby burp," he said.

Hex grinned. "It's the perfect opportunity to – "

"Don't even think about it," Alec warned. He grinned. "At least let's get the mission over and done with before we wreak havoc on the poor, unsuspecting residents of the hotel."

"We need to discuss the rooming arrangements," Biggs said. He put an arm around Mina's shoulder. "Wanna share?"

She gave him a glare and pushed him away.

"_Come on, 839, we're both adults. I think we can share."_

_She laughed and he pulled her down for a kiss._

"Hey, Mina," Biggs said. "What's with all the spacing out?"

She ignored him and he felt a twinge of hurt.

_What the hell is wrong with her?_

"Kyle, Fox, Miles and Thomas," Max said, taking charge. "You can have one room. "Peter, Biggs, Alec and Hex in another. Justine, Lila, Darcy, Mina and I will take another one. Paige, Prue, Samantha, Risa and Nala in the fourth. Travis, Hunter, Richie and Andrew in the last. Is everyone okay with that?"

Everyone nodded and Alec went to go check in. After he returned, he gave everyone their card keys and they went off in separate ways.

* * *

Max combed through her hair one last time before she put the brush down.

"Damn girl, you're gonna steal the hearts of all them men out there!" Darcy said, checking over her appearance. Max felt a small pang in her heart for Original Cindy once again, and stood up. She wore a silk beige pantsuit that was professional enough, but at the same time showed of her curves. Her shoulder-length hair was straightened and Max had put on just a small amount of make-up to accentuate her exotic face.

"You guys ready?" she asked them. "Conference is gonna start in 10."

The other four wore similar outfits. Darcy in a black, professional dress, Mina in a white pant suit, Justine in a black pant suit and Lila in a wooly, grey, professional dress.

"We are bombs on heels," Mina said and the rest of them giggled.

"Shall we?" Lila said, walking out the door.

* * *

"You're even sexier as a journalist," Alec muttered in her ear, making her jump about a foot.

She hit him on the shoulder. "You scared the hell out of me, Alec," she said.

She heard O.C.'s voice in her head. _Think boo._ _Did him appearing out of nowhere scare you, or was it what he said?_

Alec didn't answer her, he just grinned. That grin made her ribcage pound so she moved away from him.

_Get your head in the game soldier, _she thought. _No distractions or slip-ups. If I do, it's hello Psy Ops._

She saw one of the scientists they were supposed to investigate and went up to him, tapping behind her ear twice to turn off her com. She didn't want any of her friends to hear what she was going to ask; so far no one except Alec knew and that was how she would like it to stay.

"Hello Dr. Kino," Max said, smiling as she approached him. "Max Guevara, Biotech Frontiers. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well," Dr. Kino said. "How do you do?"

"I've been wondering about something for a long time," Max said. "You know how when you try to re-sequence nucleotides you always end up with one stray entron? Have you ever thought about using plasmids to transfect the new base-pair vectors directly into the codon sequence so that that won't happen? I mean, one small bad entron can ruin everything."

"That is a fascinating theory," Dr. Kino said. "No, I haven't thought about it, but that's very interesting."

Max opened her mouth to speak but the intercom interrupted her.

"Would everyone please proceed to the conference room and take your seats?"

"Maybe we can talk a little later at the party," Dr. Kino said.

"Yes, that would be great. Thanks," Max said, and with a little bow of the head, he left.

"Why were you asking him that?" Alec asked, coming up behind her again. "We're supposed to be interrogating the subjects in a sneaky manner, not having boring old science talk."

"Is your tracking device on me set on stalker?" she asked him irritably.

Alec looked affronted. "I'm not a stalker."

"You're there every time I turn around," she said to him, and as she turned around to go into the conference room, he blurred in front of her.

She narrowed her eyes. "Oh. Very funny."

"Glad you think so," Alec said, walking in with her.

* * *

"Those two have got it so bad for each other," Lila said as she walked toward the conference room with Hunter, Travis and Prue, all four of them watching Max's and Alec's antics. "It's hilarious to watch them. Funnier yet, they don't even realize it."

"Or don't _want _to," Prue interjected.

"Please don't start with that whole psyche stuff," Lila said. "When you start analyzing people, you never stop talking."

Hunter rolled his eyes. "You're one to talk, no pun intended."

"Oh, shut up," Prue said.

"I'm defending you!" Hunter said.

"She doesn't need to be defended, she can do that well enough on her own," Lila said.

"What do you mean by that?" Prue asked.

"Stop bickering, children, and behave like the adults you're pretending to be," Travis said.

Travis grinned at their glares.

"What?" he said, shrugging innocently. It was a well-known fact that Travis loved to argue.

"Like you can chastise us," Hunter said.

"You argue even more than we do!" Lila said.

"They probably put some touchy animal in his DNA," Prue mused.

"Oh, stop it with that psyche crap!" Hunter said.

"I'm not touchy!" Travis defended.

"You guys are all idiots," Justine said, passing by them. Theyall fellsilent. Justine had always been kind-spirited and had never uttered a bad word in her life, despite the fact that all of them basically were as sarcastic as it got. To hear her call them idiots was just shocking.

They all started giggling slightly when they realized how childish they were being.

"She's right. We are idiots," Lila concluded.

"I'm not an idiot!" Prue and Travis said simultaneously and their squabble started all over again.

* * *

The conference passed rather quickly. For most of them it was extremely boring, considering that they knew practically everything the scientists were explaining. Risa and Hex, who always needed action, dozed off a few times only to be awoken by one of the others.

"Pay attention," Nala said, pinching Hex as he started to snore.

"What?" he mumbled. "Dr. Boring and crew aren't giving us any information, so why should I bother paying attention?"

"Miles was right," Nala said. "We should have named you Troll." That got his attention so he straightened up with another grumble and managed to stay awake the rest of the conference.

* * *

"Freedom," Richie said, stretching his arms as they walked out. "I think that came close to as boring as Trainer Linden. In arts and culture I can barely keep my eyes open."

"That's because you have the attention span of a gnat," Samantha said. "I found it pretty cool."

"Yeah, but you're abnormal," he said.

"In case you haven't noticed, we're all abnormal, stupid," Darcy said.

"I'm not stupid, I have a genius IQ," Richie said.

"It doesn't show," she replied.

"I can't wait until this party," Fox said. "There's quite a few pretty ladies here. Who knew scientists could be so hot?"

"Please," Paige said, tossing her hair. "Half of them are over 35."

Fox shrugged. "I'm a mature guy."

They all looked at him with disbelief and he held his hands up.

"Alright, alright. Jeez."

* * *

"Promise you'll save a dance for me?" Alec asked Max as she walked back to her room to change.

"Yeah, right," Max said.

"Oh, come on. Please?"

She made the mistake of looking at him. His eyes were widened in the cutest way and she rolled her eyes.

"Alright, smart-ass. Fine," she said, giving in.

_I must be getting soft. It took him all of 5 seconds to convince me. Damn Max, how come you can't resist _one _guy? _

She looked at him again and he was grinning at her. She felt her cheeks flush slightly and her face start to burn.

_He's so cute. No, wait, I just not did think that. Oh God, what's wrong with me._

"I'll meet you at the entrance to the party room," he said, finally detaching himself from her. He gave her a small wink and then he was gone.

_Blue Lady, help me if I'm going to do something I regret.

* * *

_

Max smacked her lips as she put on some lip gloss, then, finally, finished, she waited for the others.

Her hair was piled up on top of her head in a messy bun with tendrils hanging loose here and there, framing her face. She wore a crimson strapless dress, hugging her body tightly, showing off just the right amount of skin. The dress almost touched the floor and had a slit running up the side to about mid-thigh. She wore red sandal heels, and she had put some glitter all over her upper-chest area. She had some small, light silver bangles on her wrists and her face was made-up lightly.

Mina had on a yellow dress that came around her knees with small ruffles at the end, gold strappy sandals on her feet. Her long hair seemed like spun gold and it was let down, not in its usual high ponytail.

Darcy, the beautiful Arabian, was decked out in a black, floor-length dress made of silk. She looked the complete opposite of Mina: where Mina was the goddess of the day, Darcy looked like the goddess of the night.

Lila wore a spandex, emerald green mini dress that accentuated her olive eyes and her flaming red hair, where shy, quiet, conservative Justine surprised them all with a very revealing, white halter dress.

"I've never worn something like this before," she said excitedly. "I just thought I'd give it a try."

"You should experiment more often, girl!" Max said. "You look fantastic!"

Mina looked at a clock. "We gotta go or we'll be late."

They grabbed their bags and headed out the door and down the stairs.

* * *

Alec talked with Biggs at the bottom of the stairs, outside the party room, when his jaw dropped open. Biggs followed his gaze and he made a gasping sound.

5 goddesses walked down the stairs, and every eye was on them. Men who were waiting for their own escorts ogled at the women, who confidently walked down the stairs, all grinning as they knew people were watching.

"Holy," was all that Alec said when Max came up to him. He wasn't capable of anything else.

"I was right. You are Venus in disguise," Biggs said to Mina. She punched his arm with unrestrained force and he cringed. "Let's go in. And you had better not be looking at my ass."

Max blushed as Alec looked her over, finally having the sense to close his mouth.

"You like?" she asked and finally she got a reaction.

"Are you kidding? This is probably every guy's wet dream," he said.

She smacked him on the shoulder.

"Great. Thanks for telling me I look like a hooker," she said.

"No, you look beautiful," Alec said seriously. She felt her face heat up again and she tugged on his arm to go inside.

"We need to find one of the scientists," she said.

"First you owe me a dance," Alec said. He took her arm to the middle of the dance floor and pulled her close. She was reluctant at first but finally she let all of her defenses down.

_What about Logan? _Some faraway part of her mind asked.

_What about him? _she thought. She turned off her thoughts and surrendered herself wholly to the dance.

They swayed slowly from side to side with her head on his chest. Nothing had ever felt more right. She was sure that if he hadn't had his arms wrapped around her to hold her up, she would have fallen.

* * *

"Our C.O.'s in lo-ove," Risa sing-songed. She giggled as Paige rolled her eyes but even she couldn't help agreeing.

"Better yet, with our SIC," Paige said. She frowned as she saw a burly guy standing in a corner with no expression on his face, doing absolutely nothing. She looked around the room and saw more of them.

"Hey. Are those guys supposed to be security or what?" she asked Risa. Risa followed her gaze, and the normally up-beat transgenic looked concerned.

"I don't know, but I get this bad feeling," she said.

"Yeah," Paige said worriedly. "That's what bothers me."

* * *

"Wanna dance?" Biggs asked Mina for the 3rd time.

"We're here on a mission, not to have fun," Mina replied, scanning the room for one of the scientists. She spotted one over by the drinks table.

"Max and Alec aren't exactly adhering to those rules," he pointed out.

"That's Max and Alec," she said.

"I don't get it," Biggs said. "What do you have against me?"

Mina noticed hurt in his voice and she looked at him.

"Biggs," she said, softening her voice. "I don't have anything against you. It's… something that happened a long time ago. Something that I can't let happen again."

"What?" he asked, genuinely interested. "Tell me."

Mina bit her lip.

_Don't let him in. If you do, you'll lose him too. _

"I – I can't," she said. "I'm sorry."

Before Biggs could utter another word, she was heading for one of the scientists.

* * *

He was watching her. She could feel it. She lifted her head from his chest.

"What?" she asked softly. He didn't answer, just kept staring at her. "Alec?"

Their eyes were locked onto each other's and everything faded around them. They bent their heads forward, and their lips met in a whisper of a kiss.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I've gone cross-eyed. 17 pages! Can you believe it? My eyes and wrists hurt. LOL Feedback please! I need something to soothe my pain. I've been writing for 7 hours straight and I need to update my other stories. Ugh, I'm dizzy.

Thanks to my wonderful, fantastic reviewers –

calistra – Thanks! LOL Sorry I made you feel ancient, wasn't my intention.

Alana84 – Thanks!

elle6778 – Thanks! Glad you liked the talking is a sign of intelligence line. LOL In sixth grade, I used it on my teacher when he told me I talked too much. That shut him up. LOL

w1cked angel – Thanks! The thing with Alec not wanting Max to become the best isn't exactly because he dislikes her, (far from it), but because he feels slightly threatened by her. I know you might think that it doesn't make sense for now, but it will be explained later on in the fic. Alec has to stay the best in fear of consequences that will later be explained. Hope that answers your question!

latinapotterfan – Thanks!

Iridescent Twilight – Thanks!

Mystic Fayth – Thanks! More MA action is coming up. The mission couldn't be written in just one chapter. A) Because I would die of exhaustion. I'm so cross-eyed right now. LOL And B) Because I wanted to leave a tantalizing cliffhanger. LOL

Katydid49659 – Thanks! Great to have a new reviewer!

Kelzaa – Thanks! There might be a showdown sometime near the end, but it won't be like you expect. Hehehe. I'm not giving it away. And as Max says, although I have a pretty sketchy idea of what's gonna happen, I'm making it up as I go along.

Kim – Thanks! Awesome to have a new reviewer! LOL Glad that you liked the guy behaviour at the table. I just had to put that in somewhere.

meri24 – Thanks!

L80bug – Thanks! Yes, I am a Charmed fan. But the funny thing? I wasn't even thinking about that when I named them. I was looking through a baby names book, (which is how I knew all the meanings) and I just picked them out. Later I realized what they were. LOL

lady marauder – Thanks! So happy to have a new reviewer!

shygirl1 – Thanks!

Cora – Thanks!

Lotamoxie – Thanks!

bella1812 – Thanks!


	12. Conflicting Emotions

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I haven't been feeling well recently. I hope you like this chapter. Please check out my other fics; I'm sure you'll like them. Please give me some feedback:)

* * *

Time stood still. All that existed was the two of them, wrapped up in each other. They didn't see the grinning faces of their friends, couldn't hear the giggles from the people around them, and couldn't sense anything except for each other.

Alec flicked his tongue at her lips, asking for entrance, and she granted it. Every nerve in her body was tingling; she had never felt this way before with anyone, not even when she was in heat. Her body was burning and she was loving it.

That was when her senses caught up to her and an overwhelming feeling of danger passed over her. She jerked away from Alec with wild eyes, shocked at what she had just done. Her breathing was laboured and she saw his surprised look from her sudden movement.

"Max?" he asked, his voice raspy.

_Danger, _her mind whispered.

She needed to get out of there. Something was wrong with the room. Something wasn't right. She couldn't feel it before, but she could now. Something wasn't how it should be.

Her eyes scanned the room frantically until she spotted what was wrong. All the oxygen rushed out of her and she felt like she couldn't breathe.

_Too many things are happening at once, _she thought. _I can't take it. _She tried to focus her thoughts but it was like trying to race the speed of light. She couldn't keep up.

"Max, what's wrong?" Alec asked, coming up to her. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Max?"

He was starting to get worried. She scanned the room once more, unhearing.

"Max, tell me what's wrong," Alec said.

_How could they be here? I thought I had gotten rid of them. _She looked around the room, mentally noting where all of them were. One of them posted near the washrooms, another near the windows. They were blocking off any exit from the room.

She backed away from Alec looking flustered. She needed to get away from him. She needed to get out of the room. She turned to leave but came face to face with another one. Fear gripped her before she smelled smoke and heard the screams of the other people in the room, and then all was black.

* * *

Max woke with her head throbbing despite the gentle hands that were caressing her. She let her eyes adjust to the light before she registered a loud humming in the background.

_An engine, _she realized. She looked around anxiously but the action bothered her sore head.

"Relax. It looks like we're stuck here unless you want to jump off," Alec said. So it was him who was holding her.

She moved away quickly and noticed the hurt look in his eyes. She pushed down the guilt of her actions and noticed they were in an airplane. She saw her unit mates coming to slowly around them which confirmed her worst fear.

She saw Mina and Biggs lying down against a carton with distressed looks on their faces. She moved to join them.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Well, we were all having a nice little show with you and our C.O. over there," Mina said, noticing Max's flushed cheeks as she mentioned it, "when these guys who were posted all around the room let loose a bunch of sleeping gas. That's the last thing I remember." She chuckled slightly. "He doesn't seem to mind though," she said, nodding her head towards a still-sleeping Richie.

"Well, since our mission is completely fucked up, we might as well concentrate on getting the hell out of here," Nala said. "What do you suggest, oh Commander?"

For once Alec looked completely at loss for words. He shrugged. "Getting some sleep?" he said with a small grin and Lila, who was sitting closest to him at the moment, punched him hard on the arm.

"We need to assess the situation first," Prue said knowledgeably. "What's the current situation?"

"Easy enough," Biggs answered. "We're stuck on a plane. Our mission was a failure. We don't know who our enemies are and Manticore probably thinks we've gone AWOL."

"We do know who our enemies are," Max said quietly. All eyes turned to her and they all noted the somewhat apprehensive look on her face.

_Max, afraid? That's not like her, _Alec thought. A smile tugged at his corners. _Then again, neither is kissing me._

"What's up Max? How do you know who they are?" Travis asked.

"They're called the Reds. They're South African military. Guys recruited off death row," she said.

"Why do you look so scared then?" Alec asked. "We can kick their asses, no problem."

"I'm not scared!" she said indignantly though her eyes betrayed her true feelings about the matter. "They're not so easy to beat. They all have these implants in the back of their necks that pump them with adrenalin so that they're kind of revved up. The implant blocks their pain receptors so they don't feel anything no matter what we do. Good thing is their bodies can't handle that much punishment so they die around 6 months. Let's just hope their time is up."

"Shit," Hunter breathed.

"Why don't we just jump them when they try to get us off of here?" Samantha suggested. "And why do they even want us anyway?"

"We can't jump them. It's not so much the fact that they're equal to us; we have the skill and the training, but they have the numbers. There's also the whole fact that they don't feel pain, remember?" Max said. "And they want us because they're told that our genetic code can save them; prolong their life span by a few years because if they could study us, they might be able to find a way to re-engineer their DNA so that the implant doesn't burn them out."

"How do you know so much?" Fox asked. Even though his tone was light, she could still hear underlying suspicion in his voice.

_They still don't trust me, _Max thought. She felt a little twinge of hurt but washed it away. _I guess that's understandable. I don't trust them completely yet either._

"Back when I was on the outside, let's just say that they wanted me to become a mommy to a bunch of these guys," she said with a small grin.

"What did you do?" Andrew asked.

"Kicked their asses of course," she said, smiling. "Almost died in the process, but I did it. Luckily I had a friend on hand."

_Logan. I was lucky that was there._

"You almost died?" Alec asked, worry evident in his voice. She was almost touched by his concern but she refused to show it. They were in a compromising situation; she had to get her head in the game and not let strange feelings mix her up.

"Here's my battle scar," she said and turned around. Under her barcode they could all see a faint red dot. "Still got the buggy implant in my head."

"Whoa," was all they said.

Max sat back and leaned against another carton. She let out a sigh.

"Since we don't have anything better to do, why don't we talk about the nice display you guys put on back there," Mina said, grinning broadly. Max felt her face redden with embarrassment and she looked away from where she knew Alec was grinning as well.

"Our two commanders were kiss-ing," Kyle said, drawing the last word out.

"Just please don't make out in front of us," Miles added. "Or else I think I'm entitled to puke."

"Well Miles, I promise you we will," Alec said.

"We most certainly will not!" Max said. "We're not going to be doing anything. I just – got caught up in the moment."

She heard a few of the others snicker overtly.

"Got caught up in the moment," Darcy repeated. "Riiight. And I'm the queen of England."

"With our DNA, you never know," Max shot back.

"Shut up back there!" they heard someone shout, and they banged against the wall.

"Why don't you, jackass!" Hex shouted back. "Mind your own business! Or has that stupid implant in the back of your head given you some brain damage and warped your understanding of the word privacy?"

There was silence on the other side. It seemed tat the person was puzzled as to how he knew about the implant. They heard a shuffling of feet and the person walked away.

"Hey guys, something just occurred to me," Biggs said.

"Really?" Mina said mockingly. "That must've used up all of your brain cells."

"What does it matter? They're going to replicate anyway," Biggs said and she fell silent with a murderous glare.

"Anyways, before I was so rudely interrupted, how did these Reds find out we were going to be at the conference?" Biggs asked. "I mean, _somebody _had to tell them that there was going to be a full house of transgenics."

"Which means either that the genetics conference was a setup," Justine said, "and the Reds _gave_ those scientists info on Manticore just to get them curious, knowing that a team from Manticore would check them out, or – "

"There's a traitor in Manticore," Fox finished.

Max didn't even want to think who they would suspect.

"Well, on ordinary terms, I suppose that'd be me, huh?" Max said bitterly. The others looked at her in surprise, one or two looking guilty, confirming her thoughts. "Then again, if I wanted to barbecue your asses, I wouldn't have gone too."

"Unless you didn't know that it would be our Unit that would be deployed," Richie said thoughtfully.

"323," Alec said warningly, a dangerous note in his voice. At the use of his designation, Richie reddened.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"It's okay," Max answered. "I can understand why it would be hard to trust me. After all, you've spent you're whole lives thinking of me as a traitor. It's only natural."

She couldn't even believe those words had even come out of her mouth. _I would never think of you guys as traitors, even if I had been trained to. I wouldn't have listened like an obedient puppy, _she thought, a little anger and resentment coursing through her. She had to admit though; it warmed her that Alec had come to her defense. However she was still unsettled by the events that had happened back at the party.

_Alec flicked his tongue at her lips, asking for entrance, and she granted it. Every nerve in her body was tingling; she had never felt this way before with anyone, not even when she was in heat. Her body was burning and she was loving it._

She shook her head to clear the disturbing thoughts. _Logan. I love Logan. Not… _She wouldn't even contemplate that she lov – no, liked – Alec. Logan was the love of her life, the one she had missed so very much lying in Med Bay with nothing but her thoughts. So why was it that all she could remember was the feel of Alec's mouth on hers?

_I'm losing it, _she concluded. _That's the answer. All this stress has pushed me over the edge._

The others were chatting quietly about what they would do once the plane stopped so Max snuck a peek at him. She started when she saw that he was already watching her very intently. Their eyes met and she saw that his twinkled, no doubt reliving the memory. She tried to look away but found that she couldn't. Her mind started to travel, and notions that were unconceivable and ridiculous made their way into her mind.

_I want another kiss, _she thought, then her eyes went wide and she tore her gaze away from his. She was breathing hard like she had just run a marathon even though all she had been doing was sitting.

_And staring into his eyes._

She heard a movement and saw that Alec had moved to sit beside her. The others hadn't noticed; they were too busy yakking. He was too close to her; she could feel his breath on her face. She began to feel giddy and lightheaded.

_So close…

* * *

_

A man grinned as he closed the door. Everything went according to plan. The transgenics were in the custody of the Reds, and he was paid a hefty sum for such an easy job. Even better, Manticore would never know.

"What they don't know can't hurt them," he said to himself. "Or more correctly, me."

* * *

Renfro sat at her desk waiting for the phone to ring. Either 452 or 494 should have checked in by now, and she was growing increasingly worried. Not that she cared about any of them, but if any of her soldiers went AWOL, then it was her ass on the line.

One hour passed, then two. Renfro sighed then picked up the phone.

"Get me Sergeant Johnson on the line," she barked.

* * *

Logan was chopping up some celery sticks and tomatoes when he heard his phone ring. He put down his knife and picked it up.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Logan?" said a hushed voice.

Logan frowned, the person was obviously terrified.

"Who is this?" he asked.

"Lee Hong," the person answered.

"Lee, what's wrong?" Logan asked. Back before he had started Eyes Only he had been a more dedicated journalist and one of the people he had met at a conference and had become good friends with was Dr. Lee Hong. He was a very smart scientist who had discovered many cures to several different diseases, and was well known in the community.

"My colleagues, they're dead," he answered. Logan gripped the phone tighter.

"How? Explain everything," he said.

"My colleagues and I had a genetics conference today," Hong said. "The conference went by fine. The after party though – "

"Lee? Are you still there?" Logan asked.

"Halfway through the party I heard screams," he said. "I was in the bathroom, so I peeked out the door. It was horrible. At first all I saw was smoke. People were fainting everywhere, falling asleep. Then I saw these other guys, they were massive. They went around killing everyone. I closed the door so the smoke wouldn't come in and climbed out a window."

"Go on," Logan prodded.

"I came back 10 minutes ago," he continued. "Everyone in here is dead. The carnage is horrifying. Everyone's dead, even the receptionist, the valet people, the room service people, everyone. This whole place is a dead zone."

"Where are you?" Logan asked.

"The Sheraton hotel," he replied. "But I noticed something. There are quite a few people missing."

"Missing?" Logan queried.

"Yes," Hong said. "There were many young people here. Various scientists, journalists, etc. More than I expected. Those are the people who were missing. And then I remembered that my colleagues and I had been curious about how the government diverted its funds. We were trying to get more money to continue researching cures for diseases and they wouldn't give it to us, you see, so we were wondering why they didn't have enough to give. As we dug deeper, we came across something totally unexpected. Something called Project Manticore."

Hong had Logan's full attention now.

"Project Manticore's goal was to create enhanced beings by genetically engineering their DNA," he said. "These beings were supposed to become soldiers for America. Assassins. I'm wondering if these young people were a few of these soldiers and that the people who killed my friends were after them."

"Pretty big theory," Logan said.

"I'm a scientist, Logan. My whole life is based on theories," Hong said impatiently.

"Have you called the police?" Logan asked.

"Yes, of course, they're on their way," he said. "I was just wondering if you knew anything about this Manticore place. You're a journalist. Don't you stumble across interesting facts once in a while?"

"Of course," Logan said. "Can you remember the names of the people who are missing?"

"I remember a Mina Goldham. She was a researcher for some company. There was also an Alec McDowell, who was a doctor. Justine Forester, another doctor…"

"None of theses names ring a bell," Logan said.

"There was another young woman. Very beautiful. Her name's on the tip of my tongue."

"Who?" Logan asked.

"I remember now. Max Guevara."

* * *

A/N: Hehehe. Cliffhanger. Please give me some feedback; I'd love to hear your thoughts! Check out my other stories too, please!

Thanks to the best reviewers ever –

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Elmo – Thanks! Awesome to have a new reviewer! Some of Mina's past will be revealed soon, but I'm not telling you when… LOL :) And there's going to be a lot of tension after the kiss, but sometimes tension's good, if you know what I mean. (Hint hint). LOL ;)

L80bug – Thanks!

Gamegirl452 – Thanks! Mina's past sure is mysterious, huh? Don't worry, all will be revealed in due time. (I love saying that. LOL)

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Thank you to everyone and please give me feedback:)


	13. Reddening Situations

A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you like this chapter! Please check out "Illusions", "Shook" and "Ooh Baby". Please give me some feedback:)

* * *

Instead of kissing him like she intended, a jerk of the plane made her pitch forward and fall on top of him.

"You do seem to like this position a lot," Alec said from under her. She hastened to get off and she turned away from him so that he wouldn't see the blush that was creeping up the side of her neck. She cursed herself mentally; she thought she had blushed more in that day than she had in her whole life.

"Learn how to pilot a plane, you fricking moron!" Hex yelled as he was thrown back hitting a crate, the random things on top of it falling down on his head. The others were lurched back as well, and many of them moaned as they smashed into things or each other.

"Get the hell off of me!" Nala's muffled voice was barely heard from under the pile of bodies. There were other numerous shouts such as:

"Peter! Your foot's in my face!"

"Lila! You're cutting off my circulation!"

"Get your ass out of my face!"

Max, needing something to do, walked over to the mess of tangled limbs and pulled people up just as the plane jerked again. The big bird went into a nose dive, so everybody fell forward with curses and more yells.

"Are you trying to kill us?" Fox shouted. "You know, if you are, you might as well just shoot us or something. I want as little damage to my body as possible when I die."

"Why? What do you expect women to do? Lavish over your corpse?" Paige asked sarcastically.

"You know, there are actually sick people out there who would do that," Prue pointed out. "I once heard – "

"SHUT UP!" 3 voices said at once.

The door opened and two men came inside, both strapped with large guns.

"You just _had _to open your big mouth," Paige muttered to Fox.

"Well, at least my body won't be mutilated," he murmured back.

The men took out two long, sharp-looking knives.

"I take that back," Fox mumbled.

"We will be landing soon," one of them said. His voice was gruff and low. "You will not try to fight us unless you want to be killed. There will be rules and you are to follow them."

"Gee, that's new," Richie said under his breath. "And here I was thinking we'd get a vacation from Manticore."

"If your landing is as bad as your flying, we're going to die anyway," Kyle remarked.

The other man walked up to him and pointed a knife at his chest. Kyle gulped.

"Then again, there's always one percent that we'll survive," he said. The man retracted his weapon and several of them snickered despite the situation.

"Like he said before, you are not to fight us. Once we land, you are to listen to what we tell you to do. No funny stuff. Understand?"

Nobody said a word and he took their silence as agreement. "Good."

The two men left and immediately after that the planed tilted again. They rolled to the side, grunting along the way. A minute later, they were all jerked to the other side. They heard the engine casting strange noises.

"We are soooo gonna die," Kyle said.

* * *

Logan hung up the phone with a shaky hand. His whole face was white and the information the scientist had dropped on him was running through his brain.

_Max Guevara. Max Guevara. Max Guevara. She's – she's alive. This is my proof that she's alive. I knew it! I always knew it!_

He quickly sobered up when he remembered all that his friend had told him.

_She's in trouble. They've got her. But what was she doing in Seattle anyway? If she was with others – no. Max hates Manticore. She would never work for them. She would never do that. Then why didn't she come find me? She loves me, I know that. She wanted to tell me that when she was dying. So why didn't she come to me?_

He quickly picked up the phone again and dialed a number. _I'll talk to her about that later when I get her back. Now though, I've got to figure out who kidnapped her. _He spoke for a moment and then hung up.

_Soon Max. Soon we'll be together again, just like we've always wanted.

* * *

_

Kyle's prediction didn't come true but they were all pretty battered by the time the door opened. Alec made sure to stay close to Max as they got off the plane because although he knew she could take care of herself, she had told them that she had almost died the last time she tangled with the Reds. He'd make sure that that didn't happen again.

They walked off the plane and were met with more Reds and guns in their faces. They were completely surrounded and all of them shuddered. It wasn't that they were afraid exactly; they were, but it was the looks that the Reds gave them that frightened them. They were looking at each soldier as if they couldn't wait to rip them apart into pieces. They all could understand why though; they were told that they would save the Reds' lives. It was understandable although creepy.

Max felt more than saw Alec behind her. They were all supposed to look front and follow the Red in front of them, but she felt his warmth radiating off his body from behind her. It was slightly comforting to know that he was there; to see all these Reds unnerved her and brought back memories from before. She felt goosebumps all over her skin. She couldn't let them find out that she knew who they were and had encountered them before. If they found out that she had one of their implants in her head, they'd want to get it back and Max knew that that was impossible unless she was dead.

_I wonder how many time the Blue Lady is going to let me escape that fate, _she thought. _Sure, a cat's got nine lives. Question is: how many have I used up?_

They were led to a small building and then up what felt like a million stairs before they were told to stop. In front of them was a man who was lounging in a large oversized pillow with a young woman standing by. He wasn't very good-looking: he had many scars on his face, his features were sharp and the look on his face was far from friendly although he was smiling. It was more like an invitation… to their deaths.

"Welcome," the man said. "My name is Matthew Rodriguez. How do you like South Africa so far?"

"We haven't seen much but let's hope the atmosphere is nicer than the people living in it," Mina said. The smile didn't slip from his face but it became a little strained.

"So. You're the Manticore soldiers," he said, standing up and evaluating them silently. He laughed slightly. "I'd say you look more like a group of models than assassins."

"And I'd say that you look more like a shark than a person," Fox muttered, not being able to keep his mouth shut. The smile was finally gone from Rodriguez's face and he strode forward quickly to slap him. It took all of Fox's power not to react and kill him; he knew that if he tried something like that they would all be killed instantly.

Rodriguez looked at all of them once again and his smile returned as his eyes set on Max. He walked towards her and it was hard for her not to flinch.

_Does he know who I am? _She thought, her heart racing. _This must have been Johansson's boss. He reported back to this guy. So does he know who I am?_

"Hello," he said, smiling widely. "What's your uh…" He faltered, remembering that the Manticore soldiers had designations. "Well, do you have some sort of name?"

When she realized he was expecting an answer she finally answered. "Max."

"Well Max," he said. "Why don't you and I talk a little while the others go spend some quality time with my boys? They've been quite eager to play."

_Play my ass. My friends are going to be tortured._

All of a sudden a low growl was heard in the room and Max looked at Alec, startled to see that the sound was coming from him. He stepped closer to her and took her arm.

"She's not going anywhere with you," he said, his voice low and full of threat.

"That's not up for you to decide," Rodriguez said, smirking.

"I'm going with them," Max said, her tone leaving no room for objections. "If they're going to be tortured I'm not going to sit around here with you while they're in pain."

Rodriguez smiled again, but this time it was a nasty one. "Very well. I think we have to loosen all of you up a little." He snapped his fingers. "Take them away."

As they were pushed out the door, Max spoke in low tones so that none of the Reds could overhear her. "Rodriguez isn't going to kill us. We're too valuable to him. He's just told that to the Reds, he's playing them. These guys on the other hand," she said, nodding her head towards the soldiers, "Even though they're probably on orders not to kill us, I bet they're desperate enough to if we piss them off. So bite your tongue and we might make it out alive." She said the last part looking at Fox.

The others nodded and they were pushed into another room full of equipment. Handguns, rifles, knives, grenades, and various torture paraphernalia littered the room. In one corner they saw a Red with blood coming out of his eyes. Max saw a few of them shudder. The picture _was_ pretty gory, even for a Manticore soldier.

Each of them were pushed towards the wall and attached to several cords with clips at the end. Many of them recognized what they were there for and several struggled to get loose from the Reds' grips, but at Max's shaking head they reluctantly stopped. Finally when all of them were strapped, the one who was apparently the leader nodded his head at another man, and they grit their teeth as electricity shot into their body. None of them would give them the satisfaction of knowing how much it was hurting.

The voltage was being increased steadily, and they all shook in their binds, faces creased in pain. The leader held out his hand and the man controlling the electricity put it down a notch.

"We want you to tell us everything there is to know about all the Manticore soldiers. All the different series and their capabilities," he said in the same gruff voice that they all used.

"There isn't much to tell," Fox said, unable to keep from speaking. "I'd consider us, the X5s, the best because those little bugger X7s are creepy little freaks. That answer you're question?"

The voltage was turned up a notch once more and many of them shot glares at Fox.

"Tell us the weaknesses of all the different series," he said.

"Why do you want to know?" Alec asked, his teeth banging against each other. He then bit his tongue to prevent himself from crying out.

The Red saw no reason to lie. "We want to get as many of you as we can so that no more of us will die." He nodded towards the man who had been in the corner. He now lay on the ground unmoving, obviously dead.

"We won't be able to save you, you know," Alec said, a plan forming in his head. If they could get the Reds to turn against Rodriguez, then they might have a chance. Anyways, it was worth a shot considering the predicament they were in.

This didn't seem to catch the Red off guard. Rodriguez must have warned them that they would lie and say something like this. He ignored Alec's comment.

_They're too far gone, too desperate to save their own lives that they can't see the truth, _Alec realized.

The voltage was increased once more. Max was shaking violently, memories overtaking her.

_Max crashed through the window, completely unaware that several shards of glass had cut her skin. She couldn't feel pain._

_She dropped down to the floor and flung her head up. She saw Cindy's shocked face when she saw the blood coming out from Max's eyes._

"_How do I look in red?" she quipped._

Max shook uncontrollably now and a whimper escaped from her mouth, but everyone was in too much pain to notice. Her head banged against the wall as she convulsed.

_Max lay on the floor in front of Johansson._

"_I thought I was worth more to you alive?"_

"_With that implant in your head you're dead anyways," he replied._

"_And what about your soldiers? What? They were just expendable?"_

"_There was no hope for them anyways."_

"_They fought hard."_

_Darkness._

The leader lowered his hand at the man and the electricity was turned of for a moment. They all sighed in relief but Max continued to shake violently, her whimpers heard now. They all turned their heads to looks at her and the looks on their faces turned to horror as she screamed, a sound that pierced through the room, echoing everywhere.

"Max?" Alec whispered. She couldn't hear him. She could only feel the pain seeping through her body.

"What's going on?" one Red said. The leader walked up to her and unlocked her cuffs. She fell to the floor, shaking. She screamed once more as she rolled onto her back, moaning in pain.

"Oh my God," Mina whispered, as they all watched blood start to stream from Max's eyes.

The implant had reactivated itself.

* * *

Renfro picked up the phone immediately when it rang, so fast in fact that she almost knocked half the things that were on her desk onto the ground.

"Renfro," she said. "Have you found out what happened on the mission?"

"The security cameras were smashed but we ran into one of the scientists who had found out about Manticore. He was the only survivor. The place was filled with more dead people than a morgue. The police hadn't arrived yet so we questioned him. He said that these big guys threw some sort of gas into the room, and after everyone was asleep, they killed them all. All the Manticore soldiers are unaccounted for, though. He said that these men took a certain number of young scientists and journalists. We finally found one camera that was salvageable and played the tape. The South Africans are behind this. They're called the Reds."

"I've heard of them at meetings. They're equal to our soldiers. This is not good, Sergeant. Did the scientist have any theories as to who the kidnapped were?"

"We believe so. Don't worry; we took care of the situation. He's dead. The others were killed by the Reds, so the mission's completed."

"I'll dispatch a team of my soldiers to retrieve the X5s," Renfro said.

"You better send out your best, Renfro. Who knows how many Reds there are? You might just end up losing another Unit. The Committee won't be happy with that."

"Leave it to me. I have a plan that won't fail," Renfro said.

"You better not," he said. His condescending tone angered her. "You're already in hot water because of the DNA lab incident with those '09ers."

She hung up without reply and pressed a button on her phone. A moment later a soldier came into the room.

"Ma'am?" he inquired.

"Have Unit 4 and the Psy Ops Team sent to the briefing room immediately," she said.

"Yes ma'am," he answered and left.

"Now to find out how the hell the South Africans knew that my soldiers would be there," she said to herself.

* * *

15 minutes later, Renfro walked into the briefing room and stood at the front of the groups. She caught the uneasy glances Unit 4 shot at the Psy Ops group, and also the wondrous looks on everyone's faces. Why were they here and especially why were they with a completely different team?

"Soldiers, we're sending you on a rescue mission," she said at first. She watched as everyone started to look mildly interested. "You are to rescue Unit 8, who the South African Reds have captured on their latest mission. The reason I'm sending both of you together is because both of your skills will be needed. Unit 4, the majority of you excel in Foreign Infiltration and Recon. Those skills will be extremely crucial. Psy Ops team, we need you to deal with the Reds. They aren't ordinary soldiers; they feel no pain and in one-on-one combat, are equal to you. Psy Ops team, it's vital that you've mastered telecoercion and some other techniques. I've been told that you're the best."

The Psy Ops team took on small smiles.

"You are going to be deployed immediately. We have a private jet waiting for you. You will be taken to a small town in South Africa, which is where our people have concluded is the Reds' base of operations. Blend in with the ordinary people around there; you are to do some recon first and report back here with your Intel. You'll be given instructions and you must listen carefully to them. The main objective is to retrieve these soldiers alive. Does everyone understand?"

Shouts of "Ma'am, yes, ma'am," were heard.

"Alright. Unit 4, X5-617 as CO, X5-341 as 2IC. Psy Ops, XP-801 as CO and XP-459 as 21C. COs, approach to retrieve your mission specs. The rest of you, head out to the jet."

The 9 members of Unit 4 headed out with the 9 members of the Psy Ops team. Unit 4 was the smallest unit because 3 years before they had made a fatal error on one of their missions and it cost them half their unit. They hadn't made a mistake since.

As the 2 COs left to join their units, Renfro left the briefing room and headed out to another jet that would take her to the Committee's headquarters where Sergeant Johnson's office was. She had a feeling that the Sergeant sounded a little too happy when he heard about Unit 8's disastrous mission.

* * *

"Help her!" Alec shouted.

"Do something!" Mina yelled.

The Red leader looked at loss for what to do. "Get Rodriguez," he said to another Red, and he ran off.

2 minutes later he came in, Max's small form still shaking on the ground. Blood was smeared all over her face now and he took on a disgusted look. She was lying on her stomach now and he noticed the small red spot under her barcode.

"What do we have here?" he said to himself, bending down and brushing her bloodied hair out of the way.

He put his forefinger over the spot and felt a bump.

"Looks like this girl's got one of our implants," he stated.

"How?" one Red asked.

Rodriguez stood for a moment until he remembered something.

"_It's Johansson," a voice said on the phone. "Yeah, she's good. I'm going to need the team."_

"_She only got away because someone helped her. We just need to regroup. She's smarter, faster, and well trained."_

"You wouldn't happen to be that girl transgenic who was in Seattle, would you?" he asked, pulling on her hair so that her head was lifted to meet his gaze. When he realized she wasn't going to answer, or couldn't, he let go and stood up.

"You cost me 3 Reds, you know. And Johansson never came back. Not that I cared, but he was a good pawn in my hands."

He looked at one of the Reds. "Kill her," he ordered.

Mina was fidgeting, trying to break out of her cuffs. Alec was doing the same, but anger and fear fueled him and he heard a snap. He blurred over and put his hand on Rodriguez's throat.

"No way," he said. He pushed tighter, cutting off his air supply when he heard numerous guns cocking at him. He unwillingly let go and stood with his hands up.

Rodriguez rubbed his throat.

"Fine," he said hoarsely. "She's going to be dead in 6 hours, tops. We'll get the implant out then. You're just putting her in more pain, you know."

He left with the Reds, not bothering to torture them anymore. He knew that watching their comrade die was more painful than anything he could do to them.

As the door closed, Alec turned and took all his anger out on the cuffs that were holding his friends. He snapped all of them with ease and they all crowded around Max's shaking form. Mina ripped her shirt and tried to soak up the blood on her friend's face.

"Can't you do something?" Alec asked Miles desperately. "You're the field med."

"I don't have enough experience to take the implant out of her head. Even if I did, there's a big chance that she'll die in the process. It's burning out her nervous system; I have no idea how long she's going to last," he answered.

"How about short-circuiting it? Like her friend did the last time?" Alec asked.

Miles shook his head. "If we short-circuit again, it's going to take more power than the last time. If we shoot that much electricity into her, that combined with the implant would probably kill her."

Alec looked down at Max's bloodied face and grew slightly dizzy. It was happening all over again. He was watching someone he cared about very much die. He didn't even question his thoughts: he knew that he cared about her in more than a friendly way. And that, even though she would probably rather kiss Lydecker than admit it, she liked him back to some extent.

He wrapped his arms around her, trying to stop her from convulsing so much. He kissed her sweaty forehead, something he wouldn't have dared to do if she was awake, but now he didn't care.

"Our best hope is that Manticore'll come get us," Miles said.

They all looked at each other thinking the same thing. If that was their best hope, then they might as well not have any at all.

* * *

A/N: I hope you like this. Is it getting boring? I hope not. Please tell me if it is. There will be many twists and turns in the upcoming chapters. Please check out my other stories, and give me feedback everyone! It'll only take a minute.

Thanks to my fabulous reviewers –

darkangelgirl – Thanks! It's great to have a new reviewer! And in answer to your question for "Shook", no, I did not make up the song. It is called Shook, "The Answer" by Keshia Chanté. It's kind of a mirror song to Shawn Desman's "Shook". Hope that answers your question:)

L80bug – Thanks!

w1cked angel – Thanks! LOL Yes, Logan does suck, but imagine the scene when he and Alec meet. Yes, they will meet. And it won't be pretty. LOL

lori89 – Thanks! Great to have a new reviewer!

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Alana84 – Thanks! LOL Yes, the sarcasm worked.

elle6778 – Thanks! I guess it's pretty obvious who sold them out. But if my brain can figure out a twist, then there'll be one. There's gonna be lots in the next chapter or two.

meri24 – Thanks!

Gameirl452 – Thanks!

latinapotterfan – Thanks!

Iridescent Twilight – Thanks! Hehehe. Logan is sooo going to go into stalker mode because if he didn't he wouldn't have a life. Don't worry. Logan and Alec will meet and… well, I'll just leave it at that.

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a reader – Thanks! It's wonderful to have a new reviewer!

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calistra – Thanks!

Please give me feedback everyone!


	14. Reinforcements

A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you guys are enjoying this! Please review and give me feedback.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

BTW, I won't be able to thank you guys at the end because there has recently been a new rule that you are not allowed to reply to your reviewers, and if you do you may get punished. Many of us authors do not like this rule, so we have been e-mailing around this list where you can sign by putting your pen name on ffnet and your e-mail. Once we reach 200 signatures, we might be able to win that privilege back. So if you are an author on ffnet and want to partake in this to win back the ability to reply to reviewers, please state in your review that you would like a copy of this e-mail and I will send it to you. Full details are inside the e-mail. Thanks everyone!

Also, to anyone who's already part of this, will we be notified when we can start replying to our reviewers again?

* * *

A half hour had gone by and Max still shook but not as violently as before. Blood ran from her eyes but she paid no attention to it. The effects of the implant were starting to kick in; the pain was slowly leaving her body. She knew she only had a few hours before the implant would eventually burn out her nervous system, but a plan was formulating in her mind. If she was going to die in a few hours anyway, she might as well go down fighting. On the off chance that her plan could work and save all her friends, she was ready to try at least.

_I guess there are only so many times I can escape my fate. Even if I die, I might be able to save my friends._

There were two rules that Manticore had taught them that Max had always believed in. That you should never abandon your unit and that if you're going to die, you might as well die fighting with honour.

Max pushed herself up slowly from her position on Alec's lap and he looked a little startled that she was trying to get up.

"Rest," he admonished gently. "You need to save your strength so that you'll last until Manticore gets here."

She gave him a sad smile. She could see right through him; he was worried that she wouldn't make it, and he was right. She wouldn't.

"You know as well as I do that resting isn't going to help anything," she said. She coughed and covered her mouth with her hand. When she pulled it away, she saw that it was bloody. She saw the others cringe at the sight. She was coughing up blood; it wouldn't be long now. She looked over at the door where several Reds stood; not really paying attention to her, figuring that she would die soon enough.

_Watch your backs, _she thought.

"Max, come on," Alec said. "Your one tough-ass chick. You just kick this implant's butt."

"I do plan on kicking ass, but not the implant's. There's nothing I can do about that," she said. He followed her gaze in the Reds' direction and shook his head.

"Max, you'll be alright," Mina said. Despite her words, the normally unfazed blonde's eyes were a second away from spilling over with tears.

"No," she said, still with the same sad smile. "I won't."

The rest of her unit had nothing to say to that. During the short time they had known her, the fiery brunette they had once considered a traitor had wormed her way into their hearts and befriended them. To know that she probably wouldn't last to see the next sunrise hurt them.

Max looked at Alec, finally making a decision. She knew that she cared for him as more than a friend, and before she died, she intended to let him know that. She moved her head forward and kissed him slowly, taking him completely by surprise, but after a moment he weaved his hands with her hair and kissed her back. The others respectfully turned their heads away from the scene until they had finished.

"Now I gotta make sure that yourfavouritefeaturestays intact," she said with a cheeky grin.

She stood up, shaking a little but managing to stay upright. She wiped the blood from her cheeks and even made her stance a little defiant which caught the attention of the Reds who had stopped talking upon seeing her rise.

"I'm not dead yet," she called out. "And before I am, I intend to kick some serious ass."

* * *

Throughout the whole plane ride, the two teams had been wary of each other. Some small arguments had broken out when some of Unit 4 insisted that one or two of the Psy Ops team had been searching around in their heads.

"That's not true!" XP-097 shouted. "I did no such thing!"

"Yes you did!" X5-916 argued back. "You so did! I felt like someone was crawling around in my brain and when I looked at you, you had a funny look on your face!"

"916, that funny look _was _his face," XP-111 said with a bored look on her face. 097 glared at her and she shrugged half-assedly.

"I'm just saying," she said.

The COs of both units were trying to calm everyone down, but if anything it only seemed to make it worse.

"I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding," X5-617 said, trying to keep his voice steady without letting irritation seep in. If they kept it up, he was sure one of the pilots would come back there and give them an earful.

"Exactly," XP-801 agreed, trying to get the riled up transgenics to keep quiet.

"Misunderstanding my ass!" 916 argued. "097 was doing it on purpose!"

"Fine then!" 097 said, throwing his hands up. "You want to believe I did something that I didn't? Go ahead. On second thought, if you're going to be mad at me, at least have a reason for it." He stared at 916 and tilted his head slightly.

**Pick your nose, **097 said in 916's head. 916 started and seemed to go into a trance-like state. A moment later he was picking his nose like there was no tomorrow and almost everyone, even some of Unit 4, erupted into a fit of giggles.

"097!" 801 reprimanded. "Stop that right now!"

097 obeyed reluctantly and when 916 came out of it, he was more furious than before and the argument started all over again. The rest of the flight passed in much the same fashion; the Psy Ops soldiers made Unit 4 do funny things and by the end, although many of them were a little ticked off, they all managed to have a laugh about it and even started retelling the high points of the journey.

Little did they know they would soon be joining in in a massacre.

* * *

Max snapped one neck with ease and quickly moved on to the next without pause. The blood was running down her face faster now and it was much darker than it had been an hour ago. She knew time was quickly running out when her legs shook and she started to feel the pain that was non-existent a little while ago. It was only a dull sting in the back of her mind, but she knew that as time wore on it would become worse.

She blurred around the room, throwing punches and kicks everywhere as her friends watched in awe, fascination, and a little fear. She could hear the thundering footsteps coming up the stairs as she crushed the skull of yet another Red. They littered the floor now and the smell in the room was putrid.

She tensed and then dropped into a fighting stance once again, every nerve tingling in her body as the door flung open and dozens of soldiers rushed in at her. She flew into action without hesitation, killing 3 soldiers in the blink of an eye.

The others finally came to their senses. Sure, now Max was equal to the Reds and could fight many at a time, but she was also growing weaker and she wouldn't be able to fight off even that many at a time. They launched into action, each going in a different direction to fight another Red. It was a fight for life now; theirs or the Reds.

Alec punched a Red in the face and then aimed at kick to his groin. He went down immediately but Alec barely could give himself time for satisfaction as another Red aimed a punch to his head. He repeated the actions he had done to the first Red and grinned.

_There are just some things you can't quite rid a guy of._

He quickly surveyed the room. The rest of his unit mates were holding their own, but he could see that many of them were pretty wounded. He spotted Rodriguez, dead in a corner, and Lila unconscious in another. It seemed like Max was faring the best out of them all, but then again, considering the blood that was running even faster from her eyes, she was in the worst shape. He could see her biting her lip; she was getting worse he knew.

He spun around just as a Red raised a knife above his head and quickly kicked it from his hand and resumed fighting.

Max swept the legs out from under a Red and knocked him out by pressing his pressure points. She saw another one head for her but her head was getting woozy and the room was spinning around her. She felt her knees buckle and she fell to the ground, looking up helplessly toward the Red who stood triumphantly over her, a gun pointed straight at her heart.

_This is it._

Pain was rushing through her body and there was so much bloody in her eyes that all she could see was red. She heard a loud bang and then she surrendered to the realms of darkness that had come forth to claim her.

* * *

XP-801 and X5-617 looked up as X5-076, X5-149 and XP-467 returned to camp. They had been sent to gather some recon almost two hours before and the COs' nervousness had been put to rest when they arrived.

"Report," 617 barked.

"The base's perimeter will be fairly easy to breach as there weren't many soldiers on guard outside. It seems that they're more preoccupied with guarding whatever's inside, which is probably Unit 8. There are guards at every entrance of the building but we'll be able to slip in unnoticed during their shift change. They rotate every 15 minutes. Night should fall in about half an hour and that's when we should make our move. The darkness will give us the extra cover we need."

"Good work," XP-801 said. He talked to 617 for a moment and then made a motion to the rest of the soldiers and they formed a line in front of him and 617.

"Gather the weapons and prepare to move out once night falls. You will all be split into teams accordingly with at least 2 from the Psy Ops unit and 3 from Unit 4. We'll be giving you instructions on where you will enter and remember you must do it as discretely as you can. Don't underestimate the Reds; the director said that they are equal to us in combat and that they feel no pain. 801 will split you up now," 617 said.

617 turned his head to see one of the Psy Ops soldiers, XP-018, staring at the Reds' base with a frown on her face. Once 801 was done splitting the soldiers into teams, he pointed her out to him.

"What's with 018?" 617 asked.

801 stared at his soldier and held up his hand to 617 to silence him. He waited quietly until 018 blinked and shook her head slightly before he said anything.

"What's wrong 018?" he asked.

"We need to move out now," she said. "We don't have time to wait for nightfall. It's now or never."

617 raised an eyebrow. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"I think we should listen to her," 801 said. "Tell the others we're moving out now."

Once she had left 617 turned to him. "You're not the only CO on this mission. You need to discuss things with me before you make any decisions."

"018 is a special kind of Psy Ops soldier. She's very sensitive to her surroundings and she can tell if the atmosphere is friendly or not. If she senses that something's wrong and that we need to move out now, then we should take her word for it."

617 huffed. "Fine."

* * *

The two units stood on top of the hill, staring at the base they were about to infiltrate. They all assessed the building on their own, their training and instincts making them look immediately for ways out. Then, as silent as mice and without speaking a word, they crept forward and spread out.

018 had a bad feeling in her stomach. This was not going to be pleasant.

* * *

Renfro put her ear against Sergeant Johnson's door and after listening for a second, creaked it open and stuck her head inside.

It was empty.

She snuck inside and shut the door, then quickly went over to his desk and shuffled through his papers. She knew that the Sergeant had wanted to head up Manticore for quite some time now. Ever since Lydecker had been in charge, she remembered. Now she was wondering how far the Sergeant would go to get that position. Renfro already had a few strikes against her: the DNA lab, her loss of Unit 8, and her inability to find out who Eyes Only was had cost her a lot. It would probably only take one more strike for the Committee to think that she was not fit to be the director. But Elizabeth Renfro was not a woman to play games with. She would turn the tables with only a moment's notice.

She finally held up a paper that had caught her interest.

_Unit 8. Mission in Seattle. Staying at the Sheraton hotel for a genetics conference. Call Rodriguez._

She kept on reading until she found more notes on the other side.

_Find out what Renfro's plan is to retrieve Unit 8. Warn Rodriguez. Make sure the Committee doesn't suspect anything. _

"Sergeant, you're quite an idiot to leave things like this lying around," she murmured. She stuffed the paper in a pocket and picked up the phone.

"This is Renfro. Please find X6-294 and tell him to put Operation Johnson in process."

She quietly left the room just as she spied Johnson turning the corner.

_You should have learned your lesson when your ex-wife put poison in your drink after you cheated on her. Never mess with a woman.

* * *

_

They stealthily moved up the stairs in the building, strangely not hearing a sound. They heard no movement until they reached the last flight. They heard grunts and moans of pain, obvious signs of a fight.

X5-583 kicked the door hard and it flew open with a loud bang. They rushed in in time to see the bloodied soldiers, X5s and Reds alike, beating the crap out of each other. Right in front of the door they saw a Hispanic-looking woman collapse onto the ground in front of a Red. X5-703 rushed forward and snapped his neck before he could shoot the soldier then she took in the X5's appearance. Something was different about her. There wasn't much blood on her actual body, but her face was a different story. It was as if her skin was tinged red and she saw blood seep out from the woman's eyes. She shuddered.

The other soldiers joined in the fights and with the help of the Psy Ops soldiers, who were doing their thing rather than actually fighting, the Reds' numbers decreased and it seemed like the transgenics were winning. By the end, most of the Reds were dead or else doing some pretty spectacular things.

One was doing cartwheels around the room while another was singing in the middle of the room. In another corner, a Red was telling jokes with a furious look on his face from not being able to stop, and in the opposite corner one sat on the floor sucking his thumb like a baby.

"Thought it would lighten the atmosphere," XP-206 said weakly.

Alec looked around the room and his breath caught. Lila was still unconscious in a corner, Mina unconscious across the room, and an X5 from Unit 4 lying spread eagled near the door, his neck at a strange angle, obviously dead. He watched as Unit 4 surrounded their unit mate and hung their heads in respect, but his eyes moved a little to the side where he saw Max covered in blood, her eyes closed, her body still. He rushed over, ignoring the pain in his limbs, and the rest of their unit did the same.

"Is she dead?" Hunter asked, his voice a mere whisper.

"No. She'ds still dere, but ter pulse id faint," Miles said, trying to speak with a bloody nose and a busted lip. "We godda get der do Mantico."

The Psy Ops unit had already started to exit the room and Unit 4 slowly followed, 291 holding their dead unit mate, 916 holding Lila. 617 picked Max up since Alec was too weak to carry her and XP-998 had Mina's arm around his neck, supporting most of her since she was starting to come to. When she did however, no one understood the reaction they got from her.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she shook her head to focus. She tried to stabilize herself and then she turned her head to see who was holding her up. As soon as their eyes made contact her knees turned to jelly, her eyes filled with tears and her mouth dropped open.

"I thought I'd never see you again," she whispered before she flung herself at him.

* * *

A/N: So, did you guys like this? Poor Max, she's going to regret living when she remembers she kissed Alec just because she thought she was going to die. LOL Then we're back to the square one. And Mina, whoa. She's just one surprise after another huh? Next chapter you get to find out more about her past.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and I'm very sorry that I won't be able to reply. (See A/N at the top.) I hope I will be able to soon, though, so please keep reviewing! It encourages me to write more and it gives me inspiration.

Thanks! Please review and check out my other fics. Kisses, aod78


	15. Forgotten Pasts

A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you guys like this chapter and please give me feedback! Please check out "Ooh Baby" which is MA.

Thanks to HoneyX5-452 for telling me that we are allowed to reply to reviewers and that what happened to that one person was a special thing.

* * *

"I thought I'd never see you again," she whispered before she flung herself at him.

998 stumbled back but her actions surprised and confused him. Without thinking he pushed her away and she fell to the ground with a thud. Shock filled her ocean blue eyes and the pain was obvious on her face. However none of them could tell if it was pain from the hard landing or from his rejection.

"What are you talking about?" 998 said. "I've never spoken to you before."

A frown creased her unlined face and she shook her head.

"That's not true 404. It's me, 839. Don't you – don't you remember me?" There was desperation in her tone. Her hope was fading fast.

_404, _he thought. _839._

A million thoughts flew into his mind. Various images of a blonde girl circled inside his head, each one of the same blonde girl in front of him. In the background he heard her laughter, a light and endearing sound in his mind. When he came out of it his tone was hard.

"My designation's XP-998. You must have hit your head very hard because I don't know you," he said coldly. Without another glance at her he walked out the door, following 617 who was carrying Max in his arms, Alec trailing. The rest of Unit 8 slowly followed and Biggs almost had to drag Mina out the door, who was bordering on hysterical. He didn't let his feelings of jealousy control him right now; they had to get to the jet and get Max to Manticore as fast as possible.

"No! You have to remember! You have to!" Mina shouted after 998, and as Biggs pulled her along she burst into tears. She wasn't aware of the shocked looks the others were giving each other and her, didn't feel the questioning eyes from her friends. All she felt was the sting of rejection, the desperation for him to remember. The pain and love she thought she had gotten rid of and buried so long ago.

As they boarded the jet she wouldn't stop calling out to him, and eventually he had to break into her mind and put her to sleep.

As the jet shot up into the air, the ride smooth in contrast to the bumpy one on the way there, it held none of the laughter and pranks that it had on the way to the Reds' base. There was an ominous silence that no one felt compelled to break.

And as the jet continued to soar in the sky and weave in and out of the clouds, two numbers continued to repeat themselves inside 998's brain.

_404. 839. 404. 839. 404. 839. 404. 839. 404. 839.

* * *

_

"How is she?" Alec asked Miles.

"She's getting weaker and her pulse is slowing down. She has roughly two hours before we lose her," he answered.

"ETA's an hour and a half," Prue answered.

"That's cutting it close," 617 said under his breath. He wiped the sweat off of Max's brow and fiddled with the strands of her hair. Alec frowned at the gestures. Why was 617 acting so intimate with Max? Alec didn't even want to follow that thought.

Hunter returned from the pilot's area.

"I told the pilot our situation. He's going to try to fly a little faster," he told them.

"Let's just hope it's fast enough," Nala said.

617 had Max's head in his lap and he stroked it lightly.

_Come on baby sister. Fight it.

* * *

_

"We found the base," a voice said. "It was a bloodbath. Dead people everywhere."

Logan's heart quickened. "Do any of them have barcodes?"

"No. These were all the military soldiers you warned us about."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you." He hung up.

After he had managed to find a security tape of the genetics conference that was salvageable, he had immediately recognized the Reds at the party by their looks and by the red dots on the backs of their necks. He quickly called in some favours that the military owed him and they checked out the base for him.

_Max wasn't there. That must mean that Manticore picked up their soldiers. But Max would never join Manticore. I just don't get it. She loves me, I know that. Then why didn't she come to see me? Why would she be working for Manticore? Nothing makes sense._

"I'll find you Max," he vowed. "No matter what, I'll find you. Then we'll be together again. And no one will stand between us."

* * *

Max was rushed to Med Bay and doctors sprang into action to revive her. Renfro shouted orders and threats as she watched.

"Save her! If you don't, I'll see to it personally that each and every one of you gets punished. Work faster!"

The doctors scurried around quickly, each doing a different thing. One was making sure that she was still breathing as 3 others prepped themselves to remove the implant.

"We're losing her!" one doctor shouted and another put paddles on her chest.

"Charge," he said and Max's body leapt upwards with the action.

From behind a corner Alec and the rest of the unit watched as they tried to help Max, each of their hearts hammering. Mina, now awake, fainted when Max flatlined, all the events of the day finally taking its toll on her body. They held their breath until her pulse came back. Finally, after what seemed like forever, one of the doctors held up the implant triumphantly in his hand and Renfro relaxed.

_If she's the one we have been looking for and I lost her, more than my job would have been on the line, _Renfro thought. _But I can't know for certain until I get a second DNA analysis, just to make sure._

As most of the unit left to retire to their bunks before Renfro could spot them, Alec leaned against the wall and let himself calm down for a moment. So many lives had come dangerously close to the end, and one even had. Although it seemed rather selfish of him, he was glad that it hadn't been Max's that had been taken away.

Just as he was going to leave as well, he spied 617 hiding behind another corner on the opposite side. His curiosity and jealousy rose as he wondered why a soldier who – as far as he could tell – had never talked to Max cared so much about her. 617's head turned as he felt someone's eyes on him and his brown ones locked with Alec's hazel. Alec couldn't be sure but he almost imagined he saw a small smirk playing at 617's lips. Then, before he could confront him, 617 had gone, and Alec had no choice but to leave as well.

* * *

Mina lay back in her bunk unseeing, trapped inside her mind. The day's tumultuous events had left her with plenty of material to think about. Her tears had dried but the tracks were still left on her face and she made no move to splash it with water to get rid of them. Today she had almost lost her best friend, humiliated herself by crying and acting like a child in front of all her unit mates after she had gained most of their respect, and encountered the one person she had ever loved and thought to be six feet under.

_How come he didn't remember me? They must have done something to him; I know he would never forget me willingly. But why have they changed his designation? Why is he in Psy Ops now? He never used to have the ability of telecoercion. Why did he push me away? He must remember a little bit of me._

She stared blankly at the ceiling as her thoughts swirled around in her head like a whirlpool. Round and round they went, trapping her in the center, becoming too dizzy to pick them apart.

"_Hey! Baby blues. Check out the dolphins!"_

_She smiled at the nickname and went to join him at the cruise ship's side. They were on a mission to take out a wealthy man who was on the cruise who had a computer chip that Manticore wanted. _

"_That one looks slightly constipated," he said with a frown on his face. "See? That one over there."_

_She rolled her eyes. "Say any more nasty comments like that and you could meet your new home," she said, indicating the ocean. "I'm sure you would get along famously with the clownfish."_

"_And catfish," he said. "But what about all the sharks?"_

"_They'd leave you alone since your stupidity insults them," she said, but with a smile on her face._

_He put an arm around her shoulders. "I'll live there if you come with me," he said with a grin. "I'll go wherever you go."_

Mina's eyes fluttered closed as she fell asleep trapped in her memories.

* * *

Biggs passed Mina's cell, peeking in quickly. He saw her asleep but with a small smile on her face which irritated him. He stepped into his cell and plunked down on his bunk, letting his jealousy through in the confines of his space.

_Who the hell is that guy anyway? How dare he push her away? Even if I'm a supposed idiot, I wouldn't push her away. And how come she claims to know him where he says they've never met? Why am I even caring anyhow? What she does is of no interest to me._

He lay there until his uninvited thoughts started up again, contradicting the previous notion of not caring.

_And why did she throw herself at him like that? She looked foolish. She must have hit her head too hard. But how does she know him? Never mind. It's not like I care._

A moment later his thoughts returned until he fell asleep, exhausted.

* * *

"_Maxie." _

Max heard her name being called but couldn't place the voice. She was too dizzy. She cracked open her eyes but as the light trickled in and blinded her she shut them again.

"_Maxie," _she heard again. She tried to ask who it was but her words came out as a mumble and nothing was coherent.

_I'm alive, _she thought. It took a few seconds for that to register in her brain. _I'm alive? But what happened?_

Slowly, everything that had happened in the past 48 or so hours came back to her.

_Mission went wrong, _she thought. _The Reds. Bumpy ride. Alec. Kissed – Oh fuck!_

She bolted upright and snapped her eyes open, but all that resulted in was her in even more pain and a moan from the throbbing headache she had.

"Take it easy," the voice said. It took her a minute for her eyes to adjust to the light, and then another minute for her to place the man's face.

"I saw you at the base," she said slowly. "Before I collapsed."

"Yes," he confirmed.

"What's your designation?" she asked. He smiled but gave no answer to that question.

"Well?" she demanded. "And what are you here for anyway?"

"Expecting someone else?" he asked slyly.

As Alec's face popped into her head she fought down the redness creeping up her neck.

"No. Now who the hell are you?" she demanded once more.

"I see you haven't changed much," he responded. "Still as fiery as ever."

"I'm not going to ask you again," she threatened and she was confused by his chuckle as an answer.

"If you want the answer so much then why don't you find out for yourself," he said. "Without looking at the barcode," he added quickly as she reached for him.

"How am I supposed to do that?" she asked, put out. "Do you get a kick out of telling me a bunch of stupid riddles?" She froze. _Riddles._

She looked closer at the face that she was slowly starting to remember. His face had changed. It was more defined but if she studied him, looking for traits that used to be there, she saw the same boy from her childhood.

"Seth," she breathed. Seth had always loved riddles and loved pissing her off by asking her them constantly. In the end she always humoured him and thought about them just to get him to shut up.

His smile grew wider and he flashed his barcode.

_X5-617._

"I thought you had made it out," she said. "I saw you go over the fence with Vada."

His face saddened a little. "Vada was killed. I did make it outside. The reason I'm back here is because of this one son-of-a-bitch I consented to helping in exchange for shelter and information on you guys."

The information he just told her didn't really sink in except for the fact that her sister was dead but her brother was right I front of her. Without thinking, she put on a big smile and hugged him tightly.

"Guess who I missed all these years?" she heard him say, and she groaned.

"Can't you just tell me you missed me without phrasing it into a stupid riddle?" she grumbled.

"I missed you little Maxie," he said.

* * *

Alec snuck through the halls quietly, wanting to see how Max was doing. If anything, he would just watch her sleep.

"Stop," he heard a guard say. He cringed at being caught but he relaxed when he recognized the voice.

"Hey Vin," he said. The guard retracted his taser.

"Oh. Hey 494," he said.

"Look, I just want to check in on a unit mate who's in Med Bay," he said smoothly. "That okay?"

"That's really nice of you 494," the guard said. "Sure, go ahead. But… uh…"

Alec reached into his pocket, pulled out some cigars that he had swiped from the conference and handed it to him. The guard beamed.

"I hope your unit mate's okay," he said, walking away.

"Me too," he answered. He turned another corner and looked through the glass. He stood as still as a statue when he saw 617 with his arms around Max.

_I knew that there was something off about him._

He clenched his teeth and fists as he watched Max laugh to something he said.

_I'm not angry. I'm not jealous. Why the hell would I be jealous? I just wanted to see how my unit mate was doing. That's all. I couldn't care less if Max hung around with this guy._

He watched as they hugged again.

_What the hell is that bastard doing! _All the preconceived notions that he didn't care about Max more than a unit mate did flew out the window as he ran through a list of what to call 617 and how to kill him quietly.

* * *

A smirk formed on Seth's face as he felt eyes on his back. Max hadn't yet spotted him by the window and Seth knew precisely who the eyes belonged to without even looking.

"I should go," he said.

"Why?" Max asked. "I'm bored." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Although I'm glad that that stupid bug is out of my head, my eyes are going to be bloodshot for days."

"Because if I don't go your boyfriend is going to wring my neck," Seth answered.

"Alec's not my boyfriend!" she said indignantly. She bit her lip after she realized what she just said. "I mean, whoever you think's my boyfriend – you know – isn't."

"My poor, naïve, little baby sister," he said. He stood up and looked straight at Alec who met his gaze squarely outside the window.

"See you tomorrow, Maxie," Seth said, exiting the room. He turned to face Alec outside, smirked once again and before leaving, said only one threat.

"Don't hurt her or I'll kill you," he said. Then he put on a smile. "Good night."

As he walked away Alec shook his head. The guy was a psycho. He entered Med Bay and stood at the side of Max's bed.

"Implant toast?" he asked as a way of greeting. She nodded her head towards a counter where there was a cup of water tinged red with the implant floating inside.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Okay. Major headache though," she said. She knew what they were doing. Having small talk before he would undoubtedly bring up the kissing incident. Something she so did not want to talk about.

"So why was 617 here?" he asked, feigning a casual tone.

"None of your business," she shot back in a defensive manner, purely out of habit. "Sorry."

She figured it would be better to take the bull by its horns so she dived right into a sketchy explanation.

"You know, about what happened at the base, I was kinda crazy. Like, I thought I was going to die and all so it didn't mean anything. I just figured that I should kiss someone before I died and you know… it was just something that happened in the moment and everything. I didn't mean anything by it. I was just in a weird headspace," she said quickly, barely taking a breath in between each sentence.

"Right," he said, drawing it out leisurely.

"What? I thought I was going to die okay? Just drop it." Her cheeks were heating up and she cursed inwardly.

_Why the hell am I always blushing around him? I think I should ask the nurse tomorrow if this is normal._

He sat down in the chair that Seth had recently vacated.

"It was only because you thought you were going to die," he repeated, but with a smile on his face. "That's why you proceeded to save my perfect assets."

"Don't you think your obsession with it is a tad unhealthy?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'd say that about your obsession with it," he said. "You're the one usually bringing it up."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

_It's not my fault he has a cute butt._

"Are you sure you don't like me just a teeny weeny bit?" he asked with a pouty look.

_Don't look, don't look, don't look,_ she repeated like a mantra in her head.

"And here I thought we'd be friends," he said. "Didn't your parents ever tell you to be nice to other children?"

"Never met my mom," she answered. "As for my dad, it's sort of hard to bond with a test tube."

"Are you sure you don't like me a little?" he asked with the grin that she so badly wanted to kiss.

"Yes," she said. "Don't you need to go and get your beauty sleep or something?"

"I thought I was pretty enough without it," he said. "You didn't seem to mind at the base."

"I had blood running from my eyes," she said. "You can kind of guess that I wasn't in my right mind."

"I suppose there's only one way to find out," he said with a sigh, but the twinkle in his eyes made her apprehensive. Before she could utter another word, he pulled her into a full-blown kiss.

* * *

XP-998 lay in his bunk, trying to sort out his thoughts.

_Why did 839 call me 404? That's not my designation. And why did she say she knew me? I've never met her before. Have I?_

Even though his mind was telling him that he could not possibly know 839 before that mission, what she said had struck a chord inside him. 404 felt so… right. As if that was who he was. He never liked his designation being 998, which he knew was stupid because it was just a random number that shouldn't have mattered. It was strange to like or not like your designation. But for some reason he had never liked it. 404 fit him somehow.

839 had been asking him why he didn't remember her. Had he known her before… before what? He suddenly realized that he didn't remember the things he had done in the past. It was this entire big blank void that was just space.

_How come I don't remember everything?_

He remembered everything after the year 2012. He knew that because he remembered a mission he had gone on in that year. But before that was blank.

_What happened to me? And more to the point, why?

* * *

_

Renfro looked up as a nervous lab tech entered the room with the file that she had been so anxiously waiting for. She had waited a week for 452's DNA workup, wanting to see if it matched up with the first one and that it was not a fluke.

"Is it the same?" Renfro asked him.

"No junk DNA at all," he said. "I've never seen anything like this. Everyone in the world has junk DNA, even transgenics."

This confirmed her theory. 452 must be the one she had been placed in Manticore to look for. She never would have thought that the '09er held the key to saving the human race.

"Does anyone else know about this?" she asked.

"You told me to keep it under wraps," he said.

And as with the first doctor, Renfro whipped out a gun and shot him, killing him instantly, the shocked look on his face going slack. She picked up the phone and dialed a number that was burned into her memory.

"C'est Renfro. Je pense que j'ai trouvé ce que nous cherchons. Je vais continuer à l'observer, mais j'suis presque totallement sûre que c'est elle."

"_It's Renfro. I think that I've found what we've been searching for. I'll continue to observe her, but I'm almost totally sure that she's the one."_

"Ne la laisse pas faire des choses qui peuvent la blesser. Si elle peut sauver tout le monde, elle est la seule chance qu'on a. Si on te le dit, ammène la," the voice answered.

"_Don't let her do anything that might hurt her. If she can save everyone, she's the only chance that we have. If we tell you, bring her."_

"C'est d'accord."

"_It's agreed."

* * *

_

At the New York facility, a beautiful woman with dark, tanned skin and curled, almost black hair that cascaded down her back stood to attention during her hand-to-hand combat class and watched the couple sparring in front of her.

"This is the pits," the man beside her said under his breath. "Why the hell are we having extra training? We've already caught up to the others. But it's not just us. All of us have extra training. What I don't get is what for? It's as if they want us to be ready for some big thing that's coming."

"Hush," she said, as the trainer's eyes roved over all of them. "Stop whining."

"Why do you have to go all mommy on me?" he complained. "I'm tired and I know you are too. We're not like Maxie or Jondy. We don't have shark DNA."

"Hush," she said again. "If you keep talking we'll be punished, and that's even less sleep for us."

Grumbling, but seeing the logic in that, he shut up, but not before one last comment.

"Why do you always have to be right, Tinga?" he mumbled and she finally cracked a smile.

"It's a burden, Ben," she murmured back.

* * *

A/N: Ooooohhhh. LOL Guess who's back? Back again? Okay, I'll stop going all Eminem on you. Didja like the chapter? I hope so. Please check out my other fics, especially "Ooh Baby" which is MA. Yay, I get to reply to your reviews now. (These are the replies to the reviewers who also reviewed chapter 13.)

Thanks so, so, so, so, so (you get the point) so much to –

calistra – Thanks! Yes, 617 is a guy. From her past. (Wiggles eyebrows.) That ought to create tension between him and Biggs.

meri24 – Thanks! LOL Trust remembering that she kissed Alec to wake Max up.

Angel Of Darkness231 – Thanks!

4eva Jensen – Thanks! No way I'd let Logan save her; he's too much of a do-gooder already. He will meet Alec eventually though and when he does…

latinapotterfan – Thanks!

elle6778 – Thanks! Glad you like the humourous scenes. (I have a bit of a sarcastic side that my parents aren't too fond of.) Don't worry; I'm going to name the other units as well because I know how hard it is to remember designations. LOL (I had to write 3 lists and stick them to my computer desk to remember everyone.)

Mystic Fayth – Thanks! LOL Hi Mira. Mina's guy used to be in a regular X5 unit as you see here. As the story progresses, you'll understand more about what happened in the past with the two of them and why Mina's always so edgy around Biggs.

a reader – Thanks! Great to have a new reviewer!

lori89 – Thanks!

darkangelgirl – Thanks! Hihi. I love surprises.

Iridescent Twilight – Thanks! When I was watching the episodes, Max pissed me off every time she was whining over Logan. The stupid man made her go soft in the second season. I was like, "Hello? Alec's there." LOL When Max and Logan meet up again, Max is going to be really uncomfortable. Hehe.

Lotamoxie – Thanks! Unfortunately I had to bring in Logan to show how hard he was working to find Max (haha, the loser) when she was barely thinking of him at all. It'll add to her discomfort when they meet again. The original characters will grow as the story progresses. For example we already know that Justine is pretty shy and conservative, where Fox likes to talk and Prue likes to overanalyze. And Mina's past is just completely screwed up. LOL

AngelKougaeri – Thanks! HoneyX5-452 said we are allowed to thank reviewers, so here I am. LOL Let's hope she's right.

lakergirl08 – Thanks! Biggs' designation always confuses people, myself included. Some people write him in as 510, some as 511. I just chose randomly. LOL Max and Alec's relationship isn't going to go back completely. There'll be more tension and flirting and stuff, but they're not going to be a couple yet. Max knows she likes him, but it's Max. And Max is stubborn. Catch my drift? LOL

Alana84 – Thanks! I'm going to try to bring in the Psy Ops unit more as the story goes on. They present some interesting funny material.

shygirl1 – Thanks! Now you know who 617 is.

messymissy – Thanks! I kind of wanted to defeat the Reds quickly because if I did a ton of chapters of ass-kicking you guys would probably get bored. LOL I just got straight to the point. Max kicked ass, then almost dies. LOL

myguardianangel05 – Thanks! A new reviewer! You made my day!

GuestTypePerson – Thanks! I love new reviewers! (Does a dance)

ontheDL – Thanks! Hihi. Another new reviewer! Today's my happy day.

army girl – Thanks! Fabulous to have a new reviewer!

spanishwon2123 – Thanks! Awesome to have a new reviewer!

Thanks you to everyone who reviewed! Please give me some feedback! Kisses, aod78


	16. Secrets And Guys

A/N: I'm eternally sorry for taking forever to update. School's back so I've been getting lots of homework. I swear, school is a synonym for hell. But well, I'm updating now so I guess I'll just get on with the story and not bore you with details of my life. Please give me feedback! Your reviews give me ideas for the story.

* * *

A warm feeling rushed through her body as he kissed her and she felt herself losing control. It was difficult to form a coherent thought so she shut down her mind and all the thoughts shouting at her to stop and let her body take control. She didn't think about what would happen when they broke apart or anything else for that matter. She just kissed him back as fervently as he was kissing her and against her own volition, she moaned.

_God! What the hell am I doing? _

That one thought did what nothing else could do. It brought her back to her senses and she pushed against his chest hard to move him away. She sucked in oxygen, trying to get herself to calm down but she knew that as long as he was near her, her heart rate would always be faster than usual.

"Don't do that," she whispered with ragged breaths. "Stop doing that to me."

Alec looked genuinely bewildered. "Are you telling me you didn't like that? Oh, come on Max, don't lie to yourself."

She tried to harden herself against him. She couldn't let him in. She tried imagining Ben standing in Alec's place, and it only worked to a small degree. Whether she would admit it or not, she didn't know what she would do without Alec in her life. Still, she couldn't let him become so close to her. People who became close to her had a tendency to die. She had already lost Ben; to lose Alec too would destroy her. She didn't even let herself think about how much he had come to mean to her in such a short time.

"What makes you think you can go around kissing people?" she demanded with as much passion as she could stir up. "God Alec. You think this is the way to get laid or something?" She knew her words were stupid and completely untrue but she said them anyway.

_Anything to get him to stay away._

The words stung him but he didn't let it show. "Forget it," he said bitterly. "I don't even know why I bother. You're just as much of a bitch as the next one. And I wouldn't talk about playing around. What was 617 doing here earlier? You know what? I don't even want to know. Forget this, and forget you."

He turned around and flung the door open, not caring about the loud noise it made as he did so. As one last attempt to regain his pride, he stopped in the doorway.

"And just so you know," he added, "I've kissed better women than you."

The image of Alec and someone else hurt her but she needed to know something first.

"Better than me as in not an '09er?" she asked, malice in her voice. "I'm still a traitor to you, aren't I? I'll never be up to your measures, or anyone else's. I'm the kid who ran away when she was nine, all because I thought something was better than this place out there."

Her words cut him to the core but he didn't answer. He left, this time closing the door silently. Max watched his back retreating into the darkness.

And once she was left by herself in the echoing silence, she finally let her façade break and cried all the tears that she had held in for all her life.

* * *

Mina awoke with a dull headache but other than that she felt happy all over. She had dreamt of all the times she had spent with 404 the night before and the memories gave her a wonderful feeling, but she quickly remembered that he didn't remember her or the times they had together so her cheerfulness was short-lived.

She took a quick shower and a peek into Max's cell told her that she had not returned from Med Bay yet. She wished that her friend was okay and continued down the hall, intending to go eat breakfast as soon as roll call was over when some unseen force stopped her outside a door. She turned and peered in.

Dark eyes stared right back at her.

She jumped as the door opened and the cell's occupant stepped out.

"Hi Mina," he said. "How are you?"

_Are you still obsessed with the guy who doesn't even know you? _he added mentally.

"Hey Biggs," she added, a little flustered. "Uh – I'm… okay. Yeah, I'm fine."

He noticed the faraway look in her eyes and knew at once that she wasn't completely there. Behind his back his fists tightened as he realized that she must still be thinking about 404.

"I don't get it," he said, a harsh edge in his tone. "Why do you insist on chasing after a guy who doesn't even want you? Can you not take a hint or something?"

_Yeah, that I _like _you?_

Her jaw clenched. "I don't see how anything I do is your business. Stay out of it."

"I don't understand you!" he said, throwing his hands up. "You act like you have some big, dark, deep secret."

_Darkness closing in. Gasping for air. Needing oxygen. Hands clawing through the water, frantically trying to surface._

"I mean, what could be so bad?" he continued on, completely unaware of her thoughts. "It's not as if we all haven't been put through hell here."

_Scalding hot fire burning through her stomach. Losing focus of the surface. Body going limp in the liquid and floating downwards._

"Mina?" Biggs asked.

She turned slowly, blinking as if trying to remember where she was.

"Yeah, yeah," she said in a distant voice. "I'm okay. I'll see you later Biggs."

She turned and walked away in a dreamlike state, trapped in the world where she was drowning so horribly, leaving a completely dumbfounded Biggs staring after her.

* * *

A clock ticked on a desk beside its owner, his small body looking almost comical in the enormous black leather chair he was sitting in. Though he was far from comical; everyone he ruled over feared him greatly. He let out a puff of smoke as he lifted a cigar away from his mouth, leaning back in his chair as he did so. He listened to the clock's ticks, each filling him with greater pleasure.

The clock wasn't one of the ordinary ones you'd find in a home, or an office, or a school. It was moving backwards, counting down to something. There was still a very long way to go until it would stop, but still. Every second brought him closer to what he and so many others had been waiting for for thousands of years. What they had all worked for. He would savour the victory; it would cleanse the world of the weak as it would reinforce his power. A low laugh came from his lips as he let out another puff of smoke. He couldn't wait for his victory.

And no one would dare stand inhis way and try to stop it.

* * *

"Blessed food," Ben said as he stuck his fork into some kind of mush he couldn't identify and started shoveling it into his mouth. Tinga looked on in disgust.

"You'll be lucky if that stuff won't poison you," she said. "It looks toxic."

Ben shrugged as he continued to eat, but at a more reasonable pace. "Hey mommy, don't complain. It's all we got. Besides, if you can't stand it so much, why don't you teach those old hags how to cook? We'd all be eternally grateful."

She laughed and poked him. "You'd do anything to get more food. I bet you'd eat this crap _and _whatever I cook."

Ben wasn't listening. Instead he was watching a woman across the room.

"Damn," he said under his breath. "I don't regret leaving Manticore, but now I know what I missed. That's one hot mama."

Tinga crossed her eyes and slapped his head, making his lose focus. "You're such a womanizer. I can't imagine what would happen if by some stroke of dumb luck you had a twin out there."

Ben grinned. "Think he would be as handsome as me?"

"Blue Lady help me," Tinga murmured. She froze and turned to look at Ben, but he seemed okay. When she had returned to Manticore, he had told her about everything that had happened. About how he had begged Max to kill him, his whole infatuation with the Blue Lady…

"It's okay Tinga," he said gently, the X5 woman across the room now completely forgotten. "I'm set straight now. Even though I hate Manticore, I have to give them a hand for fixing me up. I know what's right and wrong; you don't have to be worried about mentioning the Lady." He tossed her a smile. "Don't worry about me mommy."

Tinga smiled at his nickname for her. She had told him all about Case and Charlie after she helped him out with some of his problems, and he had adapted to calling her mommy ever since. She felt a wistful twinge at the thought of her son and husband. She hadn't seen them for about 10 months, almost a year. The closest she had been with them was when she let herself relive the times she had spent with them before she went to bed.

_Case would be around 5 now, _she thought.

"You okay Tinga?" Ben asked. She nodded and gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"I'm fine Benny," she said, standing up to return her tray. She smirked to herself, knowing full well that he hated it when she called him that.

"Tin-ga," Ben whined. "Don't call me that or I'll kick your ass." He stood up to follow her and put his tray down on the counter.

"Kick my ass and I'll never be able to cook all those delicious things like apple crumble pie, lemon meringue…" She trailed off, noticing the longing look in his eyes.

"Woman, you play dirty. Real dirty because that's just low," he muttered.

"Attention all Units! Attention all Units!"

They stopped to listen as a voice came over the speaker.

"Would all X5 Units please proceed to the meeting room? Once again, all X5 Units proceed to the meeting room immediately."

The person's voice was urgent, as if something big happened.

"What do you think Sergeant Johnson's pissed about?" Ben asked as they started to file out of the mess hall with everyone else. He cracked up a little. "_John_son? Pissed? Get it?"

"You're more of a child than Case is," Tinga said. Sergeant Johnson was in charge of things at their facility, but they knew that the Director's name was Renfro.

_The bitch that almost murdered me._

"Let's go see what this guy has up his ass," she said.

* * *

Max slammed her tray down on the table and stabbed at her food furiously. She had washed her face that morning but her eyes were still a little red-rimmed. Now, though, she wasn't a distraught woman. She was a pissed-off X5.

"What's got your panties in a twist, cupcake?" Darcy asked. "You look mad."

Max didn't answer. She just kept stabbing at her salad as if she could envision someone's face on the end of her fork. She felt someone sit down beside her and looked to the side to see Mina. She looked a little down.

"What's up with you guys?" Samantha asked. "You look just about ready to kill someone, Max." She smiled slyly. "Maybe we can get Alec to make you feel better."

At the sound of Alec's name she stabbed even more furiously into her food, her fork scraping the plate. All the girls at the table nodded knowingly.

"Did you guys have a fight?" Prue asked. "Don't get mad; they all have testosterone level problems."

"Alec," Max grit out, scraping her fork against the plate.

"Is."

_Scrape._

"An."

_Stab._

"Asshole."

_Multiple stabs to the salad._

"Hey!" Paige said, grabbing her arms. "What did the leafy green vegetables ever do to you?"

"Exist," she ground out.

"Someone's got issues this morning," Nala muttered. They all looked over at the guys' table and Max felt a spark of hot jealousy when she saw Alec chatting up a girl from Unit 1. The rest observed Fox and Travis competing in a "Who can stuff the most bread sticks in your mouth?" contest. They all looked away.

"Men," they muttered.

Max had finished her salad so she moved on to a scone and started stabbing at it furiously. Paige watched, her nose crinkling as if each stab was like a wound to her heart. She was a complete environmentalist and hated waste.

"Why don't you try talking to him?" Risa asked, her usual bubbly cheerfulness ever-present.

Max shot her a glare. "Why the hell are you always so happy? Don't you realize the world isn't all peachy keen? Why do you bother pretending that it is?"

"Max, that was way uncalled for!" Justine spoke up sharply. They all looked at her in surprise and Max felt shame course through her.

"Sorry, I shouldn't've taken all that out on you," she said softly to Risa.

"It's okay. I understand," Risa answered. As Max studied her, and then all the others sitting at the table, she grasped the fact that they did, in fact, understand. She saw that if she looked closely past their eyes, different things were happening behind them. And as she looked back at Risa, a thought came to her.

_It looks like everyone has their secrets. Maybe it's not so bad to pretend sometimes. It might be all we've got.

* * *

_

As he talked to a redhead from Unit 1, he found the conversation lacking in interest and just about everything else. If it had been a brunette in her place with an obsession for a certain part of his anatomy, dissing him instead of flirting, it might have been a whole lot better. He sighed as he looked back over at the girls' table and saw them all sulking. As he ignored the redhead and surveyed the rest of the room, his eyes caught someone else's. He saw 617's eyes narrow and flit between him and Max.

_Who the hell is this guy? _Alec wondered.

He zoomed in on 617's hand which was tapping against his thigh, obviously sending him a message. Alec's throat went dry when he deciphered it.

_Whatever you did, fix it, or I'll kick your ass so hard you won't be able to find your body parts._

Alec sighed again as he watched Max stab into a scone viciously for no apparent reason.

_I guess it's kiss and make-up time, _he thought. He smiled as he thought of how literal he could make that saying. _On second though, let's make that kiss and make-out._

He braced himself mentally for a serious abusive assault on his body, then took a deep breath and made his way over to their table.

* * *

"There has been some very saddening news," Sergeant Jones said once everyone was seated and listening rather attentively. "Sergeant Johnson has recently been murdered."

The whole crowd immediately erupted into little whispers here and there. Tinga and Ben sang a little victory song in their heads.

_Ding Dong, the Sergeant's dead, shout hurray, he so was gay, _Ben thought.

_Joy to the world, the Sergeant's dead, we barbecued his head… _Tinga thought. She frowned. _Well, not us, personally, but still. We should find out who did it and give them a thank you card._

Sergeant Jones cleared his throat and everyone fell silent. "We have now decided that all the soldiers cannot remain here without his supervision. The staff here can only accommodate a certain amount of soldiers, so we're going to split the X5s up and send you to one of our two others facilities. You will be going to either the facility in Boston or the one in Wyoming. Listen carefully to see where you will be going."

Tinga and Ben sat silently as the Sergeant called out their designations.

"X5-656! X5-493! You will be going to the Wyoming facility."

Tinga bit her lip. She certainly didn't want to go back to her childhood hell and she was sure Ben didn't want to either. The memories that place held were too horrifying.

"It's gonna be okay big sister," Ben said, squeezing her hand quickly, making sure that no one else saw. "I'll be there with you."

A half an hour later they were boarding a truck that would take them to the one place they hoped never to see again.

And as the doors of the truck closed, Tinga felt as though that sealed their fate and now there would be no escape.

* * *

Alec cursed as Max walked out of the mess hall with the others girls around her before he could get to her. He looked back to see 617 still watching him. For some weird reason this guy intimidated him, and it was a feeling that didn't sit well with him. He watched as 617 pointed towards the door and Alec rolled his eyes and left to find Max.

"He's got it ba-ad," Kyle sing-songed. "Ooh, this'll be interesting."

"He's so whipped," Travis agreed, the bread sticks' new home being his stomach. He had won the contest. "It'll be pretty nasty when they're all over each other."

All the guys shuddered.

"It'll be like a free porn show," Hunter said.

"Not like that's ever a bad thing," Richie pointed out. They sniggered.

He felt a hostile glare on his back and turned around to see some X5 women from a different unit glowering at him, obviously having overheard the conversation.

"Hey ladies," Richie said. "How's it going?"

The next thing he felt was a punch to the face and he saw stars all around.

"Women."

* * *

XP-998 scurried down the halls towards the mess hall, hoping he would catch her. The Psy Ops Unit had a different lunch time than the other series, but he had cut a little of his class to find 839. He couldn't explain his irrational urge to see her but he knew that he had to.

He saw a wave of golden hair whip around a corner and blurred to catch up. He found her walking a little bit behind her friends, staring into space. He had to snap his fingers for her to notice his presence. He watched as her eyes widened with a delightful smile but then saw the smile fade.

"Hi… 998," she said, as if she had to struggle to say his designation. "What are you doing here?"

"How do you know me?" he asked bluntly. She stopped short, clearly not expecting that question.

"Well?" he pressed. He needed answers and he wouldn't leave until he got them.

"We… we were close," she said slowly, as if trying to pick out her words carefully.

"How close?" he asked. He had a feeling he already knew.

She gulped. "Really – uh – close. You know what I mean."

"Yeah," he said. "Why did you call me 404?"

"It was just a slip of my tongue. I didn't mean to say that," she said nervously. She didn't know how much he knew and she was afraid of confusing him more. Besides, she didn't want to find out what Manticore would think if they ever found out that she was telling him things he wasn't supposed to know.

"No, it wasn't," he insisted. "I know it wasn't. Now answer me. Why did you call me 404? What happened to me that I don't remember?"

_Gasping. A searing pain in her stomach. Frantic movements, slowed down because of the water. Oxygen running out. Needing air. Needing to breathe._

He held out a hand in front of her. "You okay?" he asked worriedly.

"I have to go," she said breathlessly, and then she ran off, almost as if the devil were nipping at her heels.

* * *

Tinga and Ben got out of the truck and stretched their cramped legs, massaging their sore joints. After the usual instructions and after being assigned cells, they were allowed to roam free to check out the new facility. Ben and Tinga both knew the layout of the base so neither was eager to wander around and visit the places where they were tortured.

"What do you want to do?" Tinga asked, a nervous edge in her voice. "I think I might just go to sleep."

"Okay," Ben said. "I think I'll do that too after I beat up the punching bag for awhile." He flexed his muscles. "Got to keep my physique."

Tinga rolled her eyes at her brother and walked off. Ben took a deep breath and then slowly started his journey down memory lane.

* * *

Max punched the hanging bag in front of her furiously, as if trying to transfer her anger and her pain into the bag. She punched at it until her knuckles bled and finally she hugged the bag, exhausted, and sank down to the ground, trying to regulate her breath. She just sat there like that until she heard the door open and someone step in. She frowned. It was late at night so she was the only one there. Everyone was usually asleep.

She stood up and her body froze when she saw who it was. The person in front of her stood as still as a statue when he saw her as well.

"Go the hell away Alec," Max said angrily. The man looked shocked.

_She's… Maxie's here? In Manticore?_

"Didn't you hear me? Go away Alec!" Max shouted.

"Why are you calling me that Maxie?" he asked, his hazel eyes showing his genuine confusion. "That's not my name. You know that. How did you get captured by Manticore?"

_How did you get captured by Manticore? That's not my name._ Those two sentences repeated themselves in her brain and she observed him more closely. He looked exactly like Alec, identical in fact, but his skin was a slight shade lighter and his eyes were different.

"Ben?" she whispered. "Oh my God. Ben?"

Ben's face broke out into a smile and he moved forward to hug her, but before he could reach her, her eyes closed and she fainted.

"Talk about dramatic welcomes, Maxie," he muttered.

* * *

A/N: So, did you like this? Please review and give me feedback.

Thanks ever so much to my wonderful reviewers –

spanishwon2123 – Thanks! I'm so glad you like all the twists; there should be more to come. ;) I had to bring more of Max's siblings into the story to juice it up a bit. And Ben and Tinga won't be the only ones who'll be in this…

meri24 – Thanks!

calistra – Thanks!

army girl – Thanks!

L80bug – Thanks!

Rita – Thanks! Awesome to have a new reviewer!

mel11 – Thanks!

Angel Of Darkness231 – Thanks! Max'll learn about what Logan did to Seth soon and boy, will she be pissed. And when they see each other again, Alec's sure gonna be possessive. Yeah! Bring on the testosterone-driven males. LOL

elle6778 – Thanks! XP-998 will slowly start to remember stuff, but you'll have to read on to see what happens. LOL Alec's scared of Seth. Read on and when Alec finds out who Seth is, boy, will he get the usual big brother "Don't hurt my sister or I'll kill you" lecture.

Mystic Fayth – Thanks! The whole Mina-Biggs-404/998 triangle will definitely stir up some tension, but don't worry, Mina's not going to have an easy time deciding. And thanks for the imaginary confetti. LOL Do I get more?

shygirl1 – Thanks!

darkangelgirl – Thanks! About Ben and Tinga, you'll find out how come they're alive later on. And thank you so much about the song tip; I might make a little standalone with it. :)

Alana84 – Thanks! LOL I love that quote: Life's a bitch and then you die. LOL Some more siblings will show up, but I don't want to give anything away.

Lotamoxie – Thanks! About 998/404, remember there was a hint in one of the chapters back where it implied that Mina was in a different unit before and then transferred to Unit 8 after Psy Ops or something? It was really hidden, so don't worry if you missed it. About how he became one of the Psy Ops people, you'll just have to read on. :D

4eva Jensen – Thanks!

Iridescent Twilight – Thanks!

JG – Thanks! Fabulous to have a new reviewer!

lex2u – Thanks!

elmo – Thanks! I love new reviewers!

Alec'sAngel494 – Thanks!

latinapotterfan – Thanks!

Pillow of Doom – Thanks! LOL You don't have to have a more intelligent review. OH MY GOD suits me just fine. LOL

Thank you to everyone and please give me feedback! Kisses, aod78 :D


	17. Heart Ties

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Ever since school started it's been work, work, work, and I'm gonna go mad if I don't get a break. Anyways, I'm sure you'd much rather read the next chapter than listen to my uneventful life, so here goes. Please give me feedback everyone :D

* * *

Max's eyes fluttered open as she struggled to remember what happened. She blinked and let her eyes adjust to the light so she could gather her bearings, and realized her head was resting on someone's lap. She moved her head up to see the person's face, and when she did, she sprang away and opened her mouth, ready to shout at the person, when she remembered who exactly it was. 

He sat there with his lips pressed tightly together as if trying not to laugh, and the fact that he even thought that it was a funny situation infuriated her. However the little thought that reminded her that he was alive and well, and even able to laugh simmered her down quickly. It was replaced with dread, apprehension, wonder and guilt. All the emotions that had surfaced when she had first met Alec and mistaken him for Ben.

_Don't know how that could have ever happened. They're polar opposites. Ben's Ben, and Alec's... a jackass._

_With an adorable face and a cute butt, _a treacherous voice said in her mind.

She clenched her teeth at the betraying thought and pushed Alec out of her mind. Instead she focused on the man in front of her.

"Had enough of your beauty sleep, Maxie?" he asked, grinning. "Shark DNA my ass. You've been out for about an hour."

"R-right," she stuttered. The notion that he was alive was still settling in, and the fact that he wasn't yelling at her for what she had done or looking at her with distrust in his eyes made her uneasy. How could he just forget what she had done?

She watched as he slowly uncurled his legs and stood up, walking towards her. She backed away and his brows furrowed.

"What's the matter Maxie? You still haven't answered my question. What are you doing here? How come you haven't broken out already?" he asked.

"How could you ask me that?" she said, her voice hoarse. "What's the matter? I killed you! That's what's the matter. And you're here! You're alive! Don't get me wrong, that's great but how do you expect me to react? Shouldn't you be angry at me? Hating me? For God's sake Ben, it wasn't some small thin that I did. I killed you! Do you understand that?"

She was shaking, from what she didn't know. Fear, overwhelming emotions, guilt... For the second time, she started to cry.

She wrapped her arms around her body and refused to look at him. She just kept crying, rocking back and forth until she felt large arms encircle her.

"What happened to you, Maxie? You never used to be this emotional. You used to be one kick-ass chick. What's the matter? Did someone hurt you? Tell me."

_Yes, someone hurt me. Everyone hurts me, and then they leave me. Maybe it's because there's something wrong with me. Is there something in me that turns people away? Is there something about me that scares people? I'm poison. I kill everyone I love._

She didn't hear Ben speak again; he just continued to rub her back. Finally the silence wore on her and she looked up. His face didn't have any traces of humour left; it was completely serious. The seriousness on his face made her feel worse than anything he could have done.

"Yell at me, hit me, do something but please don't look at me like that," she said in a small voice.

"Don't be stupid Maxie. I'm not going to hurt you." He smiled a bit. "Can't be messing up your face or your beauty sleep will have gone to waste, and believe me, I was bored for that hour."

She let out a hiccup of a cough and waited until he was serious again before she spoke.

"I did a bad thing," she said.

"You did a good thing," he contradicted.

"I killed you," she pressed.

"You saved me," he said.

"I should have tried harder to make you understand," she said, shaking her head. "I shouldn't have fought with you until we had gotten out of those woods. Then maybe..."

He put his finger under her chin and lifted it up a bit. "You shouldn't have had to try any harder. What you did should have been enough. Either way, someone would have had to stop me."

She smiled slightly. "You're just not going to let me beat myself up about this, are you?"

"Not a chance," he said, giving her a smile of his own. "Which would bring me back to the whole beauty sleep thing. I bore easily, ask Tinga."

Her whole body froze and for a second she was convinced she had either misheard or was going crazy. Ben _and _Tinga?

"Tinga?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said easily. "The whole mom thing gets really annoying. She babies me. I let her though; she really misses Case."

"Case," Max repeated faintly. "You know about him."

"Yeah," he said again. He frowned. "You okay?"

"Ben, how are you and Tinga alive?" she asked. "I – well, I killed you and Tinga... the last time I saw her she was in some kind of tank thing with tubes attached to her body."

"I don't know how I'm alive," Ben said honestly. "The last thing I remembered was you and I in the woods and then everything was black. When I woke up, I just had a killer headache and my neck was really stiff. They never told me how they did it." He saw the uncomfortable look on her face when he mentioned his condition when he woke up. "You did the right thing Maxie. I asked you to, and besides, they fixed me. I'm okay for good now." He mock shuddered. "Though I am never going to convert and become a Christian. Not that there's anything wrong with them, but the experience was really bad for me." His eyes darkened. "It was hard, you know. I knew what I was doing was wrong. I tried to stop myself, but I just couldn't. Every time I stopped I remembered that day in the woods, hunting down that Nomaly. It was hard after they fixed me too, but I got a grip on things."

"That's good," Max said, rubbing his arm reassuringly. They were healing each other. Slowly, if they kept talking, some things would heal. She had her brother back and she'd be damned if she lost him again.

"Tinga told me that it wasn't her in the tank," Ben continued. "She said that Renfro didn't want to risk losing her if she was "The One", whatever that means. So Renfro put X5-657 in that tank. She figured that whatever was special with Tinga in her ability to reproduce a child that was not only normal but was advanced in several things too, then her clone should have whatever was in her as well."

"So it was Tinga's clone that died," Max said. She looked down. The pain she had felt when she had thought she had lost her sister was over someone else who just looked exactly like her. Somehow though, that didn't erase it. Even though she hadn't lost Tinga, she had lost a part of her, and it hurt just the same.

"I'm sorry," she said out of the blue, but Ben knew she wasn't talking about 657.

"You don't have to be Maxie. I've already told you that you saved me. And the fact that you even listened to me when I asked you to doesn't show you as being weak, but as being one of the strongest people I know. Zack would be proud," he said.

Max's eyes widened and looked up at him, searching his eyes, wondering.

"Is Zack alive too?" she asked. A tiny flame of hope was beginning to grow. Maybe they all didn't leave her after all.

Ben looked away and his silence confirmed his answer.

"No," she said softly. "He isn't."

"He'll always be with you, right here." Ben put his hand over her heart. "He always loved you very much."

"I loved him too," she answered. "All of you."

Ben pulled her to him and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Now tell me how you got here," he said, and he listened as she started to explain.

* * *

Alec walked the halls, his footsteps making no sound as he moved forward. He couldn't sleep and he still hadn't talked to Max yet.

_Great. Now that girl is controlling everything I do. I can't even sleep because we got into a spat. What's next? She tells me to jump off a bridge and I do it?_

He came to a stop outside her door and peered in; frowning when he noticed there was no one inside.

_Where could she have gone at this time?_

He cocked his head and strained to hear anyone else moving in the halls. He heard the footsteps of the guards, knowing that they didn't belong to Max because they were loud and thumpy. Straining even more, he heard faint, distant sounds of someone laughing. He immediately recognized that it was Max, and he bit is cheek as he wondered who was making her laugh in the dead of night. He concentrated to pick out how far the sounds were until the answer hit him like a lightning bolt.

_She's in the gym._

Moving stealthily, he weaved in and out of halls, avoiding the guards easily until he stopped outside the gym. He heard the laughs louder now, but not loud enough to alert the guards because the big gym doors blocked out most of the sound. He pulled it open and slipped inside, his eyes widening in disbelief at what he saw.

He stood as still as a statue, not wanting to alert them and the green monster of jealousy crawled up through his body.

_What the hell? That's – me!_

He watched as his mirror image tickled Max, and the look of pure glee on her face. He had never seen her like that. So open, so happy.

_That must be 493, the bastard who put me in Psy Ops. Twice!_

"Ben, stop!" Max gasped, trying to stop her laughter.

"Yup, I knew it," he said triumphantly. "I knew you were still ticklish there."

Alec's whole body tensed as he started to see red. Here was Max, laughing her head off in the arms of the guy who threw him in Psy Ops, while he had been feeling guilty all day. Possessiveness surged through him and he swung at his twin before he even noticed his presence.

"What the hell – ?" Ben said, touching his bloody lip.

"Alec," Max said, her voice a mixture of confusion, anger and something else she didn't dare to identify.

"You're Alec?" Ben asked.

_So this is the jerk that's been playing around with my baby sister._

"Damn straight," Alec answered, his fists up ready for a fight. Ben raised his own fists and plastered a grin on his face. To Max, it was like looking into a mirror.

_Well, if this is the guy who hurt Maxie then I'll kick his ass, _Ben thought. _Besides, I want to see if this guy is as good as I am._

He swung first, startling Alec so that they each had a stream of blood dripping from their lips. Max didn't bother to come between them: she knew neither would let her interfere.

She held her face in her hands and groaned.

"Stupid testosterone and overprotective issues," she mumbled.

Alec double punched Ben in the stomach but was rewarded with an elbow to the gut. Recovering quickly, he swung again but was blocked.

_They're evenly matched, _Max realized. One would have the upper hand then the other would completely turn the tables on him. It went on and on until all three of them realized there wouldn't be a victor.

Ben wiped blood from his nose and mouth and caught a strange gleam in his twin's eyes. As the realization hit him he almost laughed out loud, but knew such a move would get him beaten up for sure.

_He's JEALOUS. I've been fighting this guy for over 15 minutes because he's jealous. My God, if he's fighting so hard for Max then he deserves her._

Alec tried to control his breathing after the fight. The weird thing was he felt an odd sense of satisfaction. He finally had a challenge and it felt great. The euphoria though soon left him as he watched Max run to Ben and try to mop up the blood. He clenched his fists as he watched her turn around after being reassured that her beloved brother was okay, and round on him.

"What the hell is your problem!" she shouted. "You can't just come in here and punch people. What's the matter with you Alec!"

She shook her head and turned back to Ben, ripping her shirt to soak up the blood coming from his nose.

"Aw, come on Maxie. You play nurse to my twin over there, and not to me? That stings."

"Suffer," was all she said.

Ben watched the two of them with a secret smile, seeing their open demonstration of pretending not to like each other. A mischievous plan formed in his mind, and it _definitely _would keep him from being bored.

Seeing the jealousy in his twin's eyes once more, he played up to Max.

"Ouch, careful. It hurts," he said as she inspected his black eye.

"You didn't deserve this. Damnit Alec," she said.

Alec shook his head at them and turned around to nurse his own wounds. He soaked up the blood with his shirt, the same way Max had done.

_I can't believe this. I came to apologize and I get a yelling._

"Sit down," she said to Ben. He complied and she held her shirt scrap against a cut on his cheek. Ben closed his eyes to fool Max then opened them to catch her gazing at Alec with what seemed like worry on her face. He chuckled, but when her head snapped around he managed to turn it into a hacking cough.

"What's your problem Alec," she repeated.

"What's my problem? I came to apologize for before and you're having the time of your life with my clone over here," he said.

"Technically, you're _my _clone," Ben spoke up, knowing fully that it would piss him off.

"You came to apologize?" Max reiterated, a skeptical look evident on her face.

"I'm sorry, okay?" he grunted out, his hands in his pockets and his face looking at the floor as if there was the most interesting speck of dirt ever on it.

Ben pursed his lips. "Is this my cue to go?"

The both looked at him and he rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. Kick out the injured one so he'll have to hobble back to his cell."

"Ben, you don't have to – " Max started to say but he cut her off with a grin.

"No, don't worry. I love to sleep. Just – uh..." He pointed a finger at each of them.

"You two? No make-out sessions during breakfast, okay? I like to keep my food down." With another cheeky grin he left, leaving Max with her mouth dangling open.

_That asshole, he planned this! Oh, I'm gonna get him._

Alec, however, had a bemused expression on his face.

_What on earth just happened here?_

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, an action Max noticed he did when he was nervous or uncomfortable. That was how far gone she was. She noticed everything he did, down to what he usually liked to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

_Does that qualify as a stalker? _she thought randomly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say those things. They were wrong and I didn't mean any of them. I didn't mean to hurt you, Max."

Seeing as he had at least made an effort to apologize, she figured she had to too.

"I'm sorry too. I said things that I shouldn't have. But that doesn't change the fact that you still see me as an '09er, someone less than you," she said.

"That's not true," he insisted. He looked her over appreciatively, knowing it would tick her off. "Believe me, that's not what I think about you at all." He let his eyes roam up and down and he could practically see the steam coming out from her ears.

"Yeah, yeah, Casanova. Keep your eyes in place if you cherish your sight," she said, embarrassed under his gaze.

"I'll sacrifice my sight for something else," he said, moving closer to her.

"Yeah?" she said.

"Uh huh," he answered. They were face-to-face now and Max could feel his breath on her face.

"Too bad," she said. She brought her knee up and he sank to the floor, gasping for air, tears in his eyes.

"Max," he breathed, lips quivering. "That's... not... fair."

"That's for being an asshole to my brother," she said. "Now excuse me. I need to do the same thing to him."

"You can't just leave me here!" he whined. "I'm in pain!"

Suddenly her face loomed above his and she leaned forward and kissed him. She cocked her head to the side.

"Better?" she asked.

"Much," he said. He reached up to wrap his arms around her to pull her down but she twisted out of his grip.

"You know, all the abuse I've been receiving might lead to emotional trauma," he said.

"I'll give you Dr. Carr's number then," she quipped before he heard the door close.

"Who's Dr. Carr?" he asked himself.

* * *

"Who did you lose a fight with?" Tinga asked as Ben walked into his cell.

"I thought you went to sleep," Ben answered, taking off his shirt and replacing it with another one.

"I figured I'd wait up just to make sure you didn't get into any trouble," she answered. She raised her eyebrows at the cuts and bruises on his face. "It looks like I had good reason."

"Most of it will heal by morning if I sleep a lot," he said.

"Which brings me back to the question of who did you lose a fight with?"

"A, I didn't lose the fight. It was a tie. And B, my clone."

Tinga blinked, uncomprehending. "Say what?"

"A, tie, B, clone," Ben said again.

"You were in a fight with… your clone?" Tinga said, just to make sure.

"Yeah. He was jealous that I was spending time with Max," he said.

"Max?" Tinga asked. She stood up and put her hand against his forehead. "Nope. No fever."

"I'm serious. Max is here," Ben said. "I just saw her. She was recaptured when she, Zack, Syl and Krit went on a raid against Manticore after she saw what she thought happened to you."

"They went on a raid? Against Manticore? Were they high? That would've been committing suicide," Tinga said.

"Yeah," Ben said. He sat down beside her and gave her a hug.

"Ben? What's wrong?" she asked.

He held her hands, knowing it would hit her hard.

"Syl and Krit got away. Maxie, she got shot. In the heart."

"Oh my God." Tinga's hands shook. "She's okay though?"

"Yeah. Because of Zack." He took a deep breath. "You know how much Zack loved Max."

"More than anything on earth," Tinga said. She closed her eyes. "Please don't tell me what I think you're going to say."

"Zack shot himself to give Maxie a heart."

"One he already gave her figuratively," Tinga said. Tears streamed down her face but she tried to smile. "Think he's watching us now?"

"I'm sure he's in the Good Place, watching over all of us like he used to," Ben said firmly.

Tinga nodded her head. "So, tell me about this clone."

"Well, Maxie likes him but she won't admit it and he's not so bad. He's got a sense of humour just like me."

"Blue Lady, help us all," Tinga said, looking heavenwards.

* * *

Mina snuck out of her cell and down a few halls until she found the cell she wanted. She stood on her tiptoes and looked in through the window, smiling as she watched him sleep.

998's jet black hair stuck up in the back from where it rubbed against the pillow and her fingers itched to run through them like she used to so often in the past. She watched him sleep until she started to feel drowsy herself, then she resignedly turned to go back to her cell. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice a pair of jealous dark brown eyes watching her.

* * *

Renfro rubbed her tired eyes and jumped when her cell phone rang. She unconsciously adjusted herself so that she looked presentable, forgetting that she was only answering the phone and not in the actual presence of her superiors. She cleared her throat and answered.

"Oui?" _"Yes?"_

"Ça vient. Vous devez les préparer. Les entraîner plus vite. Ils devraient être prêts quand ça vient. Le temps nous échappons." _"It's coming. You need to prepare them. Train them faster. They need to be ready when it comes. Time is escaping us."_

"Je comprends. Mais penses-tu vraiment que ça va marcher?" _"I understand. But do you really think it will work?"_

"Ne me questionne jamais, Renfro! Jamais, tu m'entends?" _"Don't ever question me, Renfro! Never, you hear me?"_

"Je m'excuse," Renfro said. _"I'm sorry."_

She heard a dial tone and hung up, fiddling with her shirt.

For the first time in her life, Elizabeth Renfro was scared.

* * *

A/N: I hope this was good. I understand there wasn't really anything interesting going on in this chapter, but I still hope you liked it. Feedback is much appreciated:D

Thanks to -

Angel Of Darkness231 - Thanks! Yum, Ben _and _Alec. LOL Now that's something you only get in a dream.

SomeoneElsesDream - Thanks! It's great to have a new reviewer! LOL Nice to know you're addicted. And I'm sorry I haven't been updating regularly, it's just that 8th grade is a bitch because they give you a ton of homework. But I promise I'll make a greater effort to update sooner.

calistra - Thanks! Ben's definitely going to be causing problems for Alec and Max, but who knows? It might bring them together...

kim - Thanks! Alec's going to be VERY jealous of Ben, as you'll see in the next few chapters. But Ben has a plan of his own... The siblings will reunite or whatever in the following chapters, but there's gonna be some other stuff going on as well.

SitaTheLastVampire - Thanks! Fab to have a new reviewer!

elle6778 - Thanks! Ben and Alec... Shakes head. LOL They'll be causing a lot of trouble. Yes, 617 is Seth. He'll tell Max his story soon, and boy, should Logan watch out.

L80bug - Thanks!

undertheradar - Thanks! Great to have a new reviewer! Poor Alec; Seth, Tinga and Ben are gonna give him hell.

Mystic Fayth - Thanks! All the triangles and stuff that are going on are definitely gonna get a whole lot more complicated. LOL

darkangelgirl - Thanks! Things with Ben and Alec will settle down... eventually. LOL And I know how you feel when an author takes forever to update; I'm really sorry and I'll try my best to update sooner.

Rita - Thanks!

Shygirl1 - Thanks!

Alana84 - Thanks! Everything with everyone's gonna get more complicated and you'll be able to find out a little more about the other characters too. Ben and Alec... Yikes. LOL But that makes things interesting.

Alec'sAngel494 - Thanks!

Gamegirl452 - Thanks! Max and Alec'll get their kissy time soon, just not yet. Need to stir things up a bit. LOL

spanishwon2123 - Thanks!

mel11 - Thanks! Everyone else will be pretty uneasy and other stuff will happen. Keep reading to find out.

GuestTypePerson - Thanks!

Pillow of Doom - Thanks!

Aur - Thanks!

Nina430 - Thanks! Great to have a new reviewer!

luckiegurl89 - Thanks! I love new reviewers!

w1cked angel - Thanks! Yeah, I've seen Supernatural. (Drools) LOL Yup, he's bad-ass alright. It freaked me out though. As a rule, I hate scary stuff because I get nightmares, but I sacrificed my sleep for Jensen Ackles. LOL

meri24 - Thanks!

daisyz - Thanks! New reviewers rock!

lakergirl08 - Thanks! Logan better watch out because Seth's going to tell Max a little story...

messymissy - Thanks! Alec's definitely going to be pissed that Ben's going to take Max's attention away from him, and who knows what interesting things he'll do to get it back.

Sea Fire - Thanks! Of course I kept Ben; Alec + Ben double sexy.

Bitto - Thanks! Fab to have a new reviewer!

Thank you to everyone and please give me feedback!


	18. The Coming

A/N: I'm baaaccck! Did you guys miss me? Hihi. Okay, on with the story. Feedback is much appreciated!

* * *

Alec walked towards the mess hall, limping slightly, his greatest injury from the night before still hurting badly.

_Of all the places she had to abuse, _he thought grumpily.

He pushed the doors open and walked in, intending to sit at Max's table, but he stopped short when he saw that the last space was already occupied. And it was occupied by someone who was currently chatting with Biggs easily. He childishly wanted to claim, "He's _my _best friend", but he knew he was being stupid. Still, a fresh burst of annoyance spread through him and with a frown on his face, he made his way over.

"Hey man. You alright? Because you're definitely not walking properly," Hunter said. He raised an eyebrow, the edges of his mouth starting to turn up. He looked first at Max, then at Alec, then back again. A smile spread across his face and Max realized with horror what he was thinking. Max tried to fix the situation before it got out of hand as she knew it would.

"You can't seriously believe – " she started, but she was at loss for words. "Are you insane? He's – we – we didn't – you know…" She trailed off, knowing that whatever she could say would go unheard as she caught the glances and grins that everyone traded each other. She looked at Ben who was shoveling food in his mouth, but she saw his body convulsing and knew he was only eating to keep himself from laughing. She threw her hands up hopelessly.

Alec walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her neck.

"Oh come on Maxie. We don't have to lie," he said, finding a way to embarrass her as well as keep his pride.

She untangled his arms and turned to face him with a sickeningly sweet smile. Something that let him know he was in for it.

"Well, I kind of think we do, considering that I don't think that you're that great. But hey, I was trying to protect your reputation. You can't blame me for not having the stamina to keep up," she said. She stood up and patted his head like a mother cuddling her son. "Don't worry. Maybe when you grow up a little bit, you'll get better." She directed her stare downwards. "And maybe some other things will grow too. Oh well. Patience in all things, right?"

Alec's mouth dropped open and she gave him a satisfied smirk. She heard many of the others snickering as well, and she made a little note in her head.

_Max-1 Alec-0_

"Come find me when you hit puberty, okay?" she said, and then she pulled Ben up from his seat.

"Hey!" he protested. "I'm not done yet!"

She shot him a glare and he obediently straightened up and walked away with her. Anything was better than facing the wrath of his little sister.

* * *

Ben stood ramrod straight as he surveyed the group sparring on the mat. He observed their style and was a little startled when his designation was called.

"X5-493!" Trainer Hilt barked. "X5-494! On the mat!"

As soon as his and his twin's designations were called, little whispers erupted everywhere, and he heard many insulting comments about himself.

"494's going to kick that traitor's ass," one X5 near the end of the line whispered.

"Totally," the other whispered back. "He'll show him just what trash 09'ers are."

Ben's anger mounted quickly, but Max's shake of the head told him to keep it under control. Today their sparring time was mixed with another unit's. One that wasn't so forgiving.

Ben had had an easier time than he had expected that morning. Most of Unit 8 had been friendly enough, though he felt a little bit of underlying nervousness and hostility. He was thankful though that they didn't judge him, at least not openly. He supposed it was Max's doing. Maybe she had started to change their opinions on the 09'ers. He felt proud at that, but he figured they were a little more tense because he was the exact replica of their CO, and they didn't want him replaced. Ben had no intention of doing that, and as it turned out, he had many of his clone's skills, such as getting people to relax around them. He chuckled at that thought. It was a little strange knowing that there was someone else who looked exactly like him, had many of the same habits.

_Manticore knew what it was doing when they decided who to clone. They picked the good-looking one. _

He tried to shut out the murmurs that were like shouts in his ear, and he was surprised when he felt a reassuring tug on his shirt. He looked to the side and Justine smile slightly at him. He remembered her slightly from that morning. She didn't talk much so she didn't stand out, except for her flaming red hair. He smiled back before walking to the mat, pushing all thoughts from his mind. He dropped into a fighting stance and watched Alec carefully, noting that he was doing the same. He smiled inwardly when he saw that although to someone not really paying attention he didn't seem to be favouring any sides, but if they looked closer they could see him leaning a little more on his left. Just as Ben always did.

They both swung their fists at the same time, both blocking the other's hit and kicking out theirs legs, blocking each other's once again. They continued to fight, arms and legs pumping, but almost every time they blocked each other's move. To the two units who were watching it was as if they were looking into a mirror. Everything one did the other copied.

_Time to bring in some old school stuff, _Ben thought as he realized that they were getting nowhere. Before Alec had a chance to react, Ben flipped over him tucked in a somersault and kicked out at his legs, pushing him to the ground. Alec turned over, not recognizing the move.

_Must have been something he learned before the escape, _Alec thought grimly. His mirror image was grinning at him and Alec jumped up, ready to continue. This time they both landed blows; Ben by using moves Alec never learned and Alec by using the recent moves that he had perfected.

Ten minutes passed and Alec was starting to wonder why they hadn't been told to stop yet. Usually fights weren't allowed to go on for so long because everyone was supposed to get a turn. As he sucked in a breath, he noticed something strange. Renfro was watching the fight from a distance, almost completely hidden by the wall she was hiding behind.

_What the hell is she doing? _Alec thought. He noticed Ben follow his gaze and stare at Renfro as well.

"No one told to you stop!" Trainer Hilt shouted. The rest of the onlookers seemed puzzled as well.

"Continue!" he yelled. His voice was hoarse he looked back quickly to where Renfro was hiding. She snapped her fingers and walked away. He turned back.

"Faster! Go! I want you two to fight so perfectly that neither of you are able to land anything! Continue!" he shouted.

Alec knit his eyebrows together but conceded. The fight went on and on until it was time for their next class.

* * *

"What the hell is going on?" Max asked as she stretched her sore arms and moved her numb legs down the hall. "The trainers all acted as if they were about to combust. They worked us so hard I don't think I'll ever be able to move again once I sit down."

"Did you notice Renfro?" Ben asked. He had his arm resting around Max's shoulders as they walked, an action that sparked Alec's jealousy. He hated it how Ben could do such actions and Max didn't think twice about where if Alec laid a finger on her she would probably hit him. Ben could be close to her in a way that he couldn't and it infuriated him.

"Alec?" Max asked, waving a hand in front of his face. "You in there?"

"Just thinking," he said.

"Really?" she said, sounding impressed. "I didn't even know you had brain cells."

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me Max," he replied, and his tone shocked her. His voice was deep and serious, no trace of playfulness in it at all. She saw that his eyes were slightly glazed and for once she was actually worried about him.

"Anyways," Ben said, Max and Alec both tuning back in. "Why was she hiding? I mean, she _is_ the director. She has the right to watch us whenever she wants to. So why was she being all secretive about it? And what did that snap mean? The trainers have been acting like there wasn't enough time to teach us everything, like they're on some kind of schedule."

"Maybe they are," Tinga said, coming up behind them. Max had seen her earlier during breakfast but was happy that she was beside her again. She hadn't seen her all day due to her being put in Unit 3.

"How's your unit been so far?" Max asked. She caught Tinga's look and cringed. "That bad, huh?"

"That's not even close," she said. "Although there is one girl I like. Her designation's X5-444. She's pretty nice but I think that's just because she doesn't really understand who us 09'ers are. I told her about the whole name thing and she named herself Hope. She's kind of strange, actually. It's as if she doesn't know who she is, except that she has to serve Manticore. I asked why she named herself Hope and she said that it was because you should never lose it. Go figure."

"That girl was always weird," Alec commented, Renfro's strange behaviour now on the back of their minds.

"She's not weird!" someone snapped harshly from behind them, and to their astonishment it was Risa, who was seething. It was so uncharacteristic of her. She was usually upbeat and bubbly, maybe even air headed. Now she just looked livid.

"Risa? Are you okay?" Max asked, with a concerned look. She watched the colour drain from her face, leaving it scarily pale.

"Sorry," she mumbled, before blurring off.

"What is getting into everyone?" Alec asked incredulously. "Are those old bats who cook the food slipping in some sort of drug to induce mood swings? Because this is just getting ridiculous!"

"Maybe she just hasn't been getting any lately," Ben suggested.

Max groaned and Tinga cursed in five different languages. When she was done Ben was looking at her strangely.

"What?" she asked.

"Where did you learn Cantonese?"

* * *

Mina sat high up in a tree, her blonde hair blowing softly in the breeze. She knew she had been pretty distant from everyone lately, especially Max, but she couldn't help it. She needed to sort things out on her own but she was doing a pretty bang-up job of it so far.

She heard a rustle and looked down, looking eagerly despite her attempt to control her feelings to see if it was 404. She couldn't stop the look of dismay when the person climbed up the tree onto the branch next to her and she realized it was Biggs.

"Nice to see you too," he said. "Where's lover boy?"

"Don't say that," she said. Out of all the people it had to be, it was Biggs. Just the person to complicate things even further.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Answers," he said. "Like, why are you so obsessed with 998? Why are you acting this way? What happened in the past that's so bad you can't tell me?"

"You wouldn't understand," she said.

"Try me," Biggs replied.

"I can't," she whispered.

"Why not?" Biggs asked.

"Because you might get hurt too," she said softly, then she slipped from the tree and walked away, leaving him staring at her retreating back.

* * *

"Max?" Joshua asked as someone descended the stairs to the basement.

"No Joshua," the voice said. It was old and fragile, and Joshua gave a yowl in delight.

"Father!" he said. "Father! You came back!"

"I did Joshua," he said. "But you mustn't tell anyone. No one knows I'm here, and no one can."

"Father came back for Joshua," Joshua said happily.

"I can't stay Joshua," he said, and Joshua's smile faded. "I will come back though. I need you to do something for me."

"Yes Father," Joshua said.

"The next time Max comes to see you, ask her to teach you some moves," he said.

"Moves?" Joshua asked quizzically. Then something dawned on him. "You know little fella?"

"Yes Joshua," he said patiently. "But listen to me. I need you to ask her to train you."

"Train. Max train Joshua," Joshua said.

"That's right," he said. "Max train Joshua to fight. Joshua train other anomalies to fight."

"Why, Father?" Joshua asked.

"Just do it Joshua," he said. "Please."

"Yes Father," Joshua repeated. "Upstairs – upstairs people train, Joshua and anomalies train too."

"That's right Joshua," he said.

"Why?" Joshua asked again.

"Just do it Joshua," he said.

"Yes Father."

* * *

Logan sat at his computer desk, typing away furiously.

"I'm so close, I know I am," he muttered frantically. "I just need the coordinates, and then I can bring you home Max."

His fingers flew over the keyboard until all of a sudden he stopped. A wide smile spread over his face as he found what he was looking for. He printed the screen and held the paper in his trembling hands.

"I've found it," he said. "Finally, I've found it. I can bring you home now, Max."

* * *

"It'll be Christmas in just one month," Charlie said as he and Case looked out a window in their living room.

"Can we get a big tree?" Case asked.

"Sure," Charlie said. "And we'll decorate it with lots and lots of streamers."

"And Santa will give me lots and lots of presents too?" Case asked.

Charlie laughed. "If you're good."

"I only want one present," Case said.

"Really?" Charlie said. "Well, that'll save Santa's elves a lot of hard work."

Case looked out the window. "I just want mommy home for Christmas."

Charlie's smile faded and he wrapped his arms around his son. "I know sport. I do too."

Case reached out to touch the glass. "This Christmas will be different."

Charlie frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"This Christmas everything's going to change," Case mumbled, staring at the sky.

"Case?" Charlie asked.

Case turned and his eyes caught sight of the television. "Tree house is on!"

Charlie moved to watch TV with his son, but not before casting one last look at the sky that Case had previously been looking at.

* * *

Two figures walked through the dark, their footsteps silent as they moved. They huddled close together to protect themselves from the chilly breeze and quickened their steps, finally reaching the meeting point. A third figure standing there turned around, his face coming into view under the moonlight.

"How much time left, Deck?" one of the figures, a woman, asked.

"Not nearly as much as we need," he answered.

"Are you sure she's the one? All these years, it's been her?" the man asked.

"Positive. At least Renfro seems to think so," Lydecker answered.

"Can we see her?" the woman asked eagerly.

"You know my answer to that," he said gently. "It's too soon."

"You said we'd be able to see her," the man said, a little bit angrily. "Why else do you think we agreed to this arrangement?"

"In due time," Lydecker said. "You must wait."

"We've waited 10 fucking years, Deck," the woman said, her voice hard.

"I understand that," he answered, keeping his voice just as gentle. "But you can't see her just yet."

"You're an asshole, you know that?" the woman said.

Lydecker actually chuckled. "So I've been told."

"Assholes die when they piss me off," the woman said. "Don't be one of them."

Lydecker ignored her comment. Instead, his eyes were focused on the sky. "It's coming," he murmured.

The two other figures looked up as well, and the woman stepped forward. Strands of her long hair caught in the moonlight, and blond locks shone as they whipped around her.

* * *

A/N: I hope you guys liked this. Logan meets Alec really soon. Feedback is much appreciated. Next chapter's gonna be longer, promise.

Thanks to –

Sea Fire – Thanks! Alec _and _Ben. Yuuummmm.

Katydid49659 – Thanks! Guys with memory problems are the best, aren't they? LOL

AngelKougaeri – Thanks!

Mourn4Me – Thanks! It's great to have a new reviewer!

darkangelgirl262 – Thanks! Ben and Alec won't get along _too _well in the beginning for several different reasons.

ceel – Thanks! It's great to have a new reviewer! Yes, I do speak French but I'm not a francophone. I've just been going to a French immersion school for 9 years. Je suis très content que tu penses que mon français est si bien car je fais des fautes quelques fois. :)

Sakura – Thanks!

lex2u – Thanks!

spanishwon2123 – Thanks! LOL Yeah, more Alec and Ben fighting in this chapter, except this time they're not exactly testosterone-crazed.

elle6778 – Thanks! My dance classes are pretty good, thanks. They just make me really tired. Anyways, I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Sometimes I just think that they sort of lack in purpose, like this chapter, but I guess a writer's their own worst critic. BTW, how was your holidays?

L80bug – Thanks!

latinapotterfan – Thanks!

Mystic Fayth – Thanks! Next chapter something BIG will happen with Mina and Biggs, just to confuse her some more. LOL

GuestTypePerson – Thanks!

4eva Jensen – Thanks! More hints about the coming in this chap.

lakergirl08 – Thanks! Max is going to see Logan soon, and so will… Alec. LOL I'm not sure if Zack's going to show up, we'll have to see.

Kim – Thanks! About Ben quitting his game quickly… he has a short attention span. LOL But he will continue to make Alec jealous. More Max/Seth interaction next chap.

Shygirl1 – Thanks!

w1cked angel – Thanks! A BIG thing will happen between Mina in Biggs next chap. Stay tuned….

Alana84 – Thanks! About Tinga and Ben ending up together, I had an idea, but I'm not sure how it's going to play out if I use it so you'll have to see.

Angel Of Darkness231 – Thanks! About Ben and Tinga ending up together, you'll have to see.

calistra – Thanks!

Bitto – Thanks! I'll update "Ooh Baby" soon, I promise. Two of Jensen… wow, wonderful visual. LOL

Thanks to everyone and plz give me feedback! Xoxo aod78


	19. Explosive Feelings

A/N: I've finally had a break from all the stupid homework due to the end of term. Phew! Now I have time to update. Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter. Feedback as always is greatly appreciated!

* * *

Max lay on her back staring at the ceiling of her cell, except not really seeing anything as she was so lost in her thoughts. She didn't know the reason why, but for the past few days she had been feeling a little antsy. Wherever she went she constantly looked over her shoulder and observed the people around her. She figured she was just being paranoid, but the sense of foreboding and anxiety didn't fade. And so she found herself in her cell, trying desperately to figure things out.

_Everyone's been acting really strange, _she reasoned. _Maybe it's just getting to me._

She had noticed that everyone was a ticking time bomb, getting annoyed at the slightest things. Even the normally upbeat Risa seemed more subdued than usual. They all seemed to be on the edge for reasons unknown. The air in the atmosphere had changed, sending waves of uncertainty about, and she was positive that somehow something was going to happen, big or small she didn't want to find out. Renfro especially was acting strangely, looking uncharacteristically nervous all the time and urging the trainers to work them faster. She had wracked her brain during the times she couldn't sleep for an answer to why Renfro was acting like this but found no answer.

Another matter was Alec. She hadn't really seen or talked to him, and she felt oddly empty, as if deprived of his constant jabbering and teasing. She hated to admit it to herself, but as every day went on she found herself enjoying his company even more and more, a concept she didn't want to analyze further. She supposed his absence might have to do with Ben always being around, but whenever the two of them were together they seemed to get along alright. Then again, just when she thought she had Alec all figured out, he had to go and do something to confuse her and prove everything she thought about him wrong. And she _did_ think about him an awful lot, most certainly an unhealthy number of times a day.

_Or hour,_ she grudgingly admitted.

Once, during her less saner moments, she allowed herself to contemplate just how much she was attracted to Alec, and the answer just convinced her that she was losing her mind. She barely thought about Logan anymore, which reinforced her theory about how much she liked Alec. And the _how much_ came to be more than she ever thought or wanted.

Max sat up, exited her cell, and peered into Mina's. She sighed when she found out her friend wasn't there. Mina was another puzzle that she had to figure out. In the meantime, she had to find someone else to talk to.

As she walked off towards Justine's cell, she shook her head and muttered, "Instead of giving us stupid trials to work out, they should just get us to try and figure out an X5. We're all so screwed up even the people in Psy Ops would fail."

* * *

Mina sat under a large willow tree deep in the forest, fiddling with a thin blade of grass. She didn't budge when she heard a soft swish and caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. By then she was already used to the person's presence.

"You know, I'm pretty sure that you qualify as a stalker," she said quietly.

"And the big, bad bitch is back," Biggs responded, plopping down beside her.

"Don't you have someone else to bother?" she asked.

"Nope. Looks like you're my only target," he said.

"Lucky me," she muttered.

"Why can't you just talk to me?" he asked. "And don't try to run off. I didn't stop you last time but you know I can kick your ass."

"As if," she scoffed. In a bizarre way she was glad that he was there. When she was arguing with someone she felt a little more like herself.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself," he answered, using one of Max's trademark phrases. "So are you going to talk or will I have to resort to other tactics to get it out of you?"

"Sounds promising," she said, and a little playfulness returned to her voice. She understood Biggs was just trying to help, so she figured that she should stop trying to bite his head off.

He shook his head. "You're evading the question."

"Maybe I don't want to answer it. Ever think about that, Einstein?"

"You're so stubborn," he said.

"You're a dumb-ass," she replied.

"You're impossible to talk to."

"You talk too much."

"At least I'm not closed off to everyone in the fricking world."

"We're in Manticore. That's not the whole wor – " Mina started, but before she could continue somehow his lips found their way onto hers and he pulled her close.

Her hand pushed at his chest but he didn't relinquish his hold on her and eventually her hand put up less resistance as she kissed him back. She felt his hands tangle in her hair and when he pulled away she took in deep gulps of air before she looked at him.

_He's smiling, the damn asshole,_ she fumed, but her heart hammered around in her chest. His kiss had stirred something in her that left her feeling all warm and tingly, and she didn't like it one bit.

His hand caressed her cheek and then for the first time, he was the one to walk away. Leaving Mina touching her lips in the clearing, the breeze doing nothing to chill her heated skin.

* * *

"Hey Max," Justine greeted.

"Do you think that you could like someone and hate them at the same time?" Max asked, getting straight to the point.

Justine chuckled. "Is something wrong in Alec-land?"

"Who said I was talking about him?" Max said defensively.

Justine just raised her eyebrows and Max's shoulders slumped. She sat down on Justine's bed without invitation and stared at her.

"What do I do?" she moaned.

Justine cracked a smile. "If you like him, just tell him and get it out into the open."

Max snorted. "Right. First off, I'd rather become a nun, and second, if I did tell him, chances are he's going to rub it in my face and make me give him a lap dance."

Justine's eyes sparkled with amusement. "You have an interesting imagination."

Max shot her a glare and she backed off.

"Look, Alec likes you," Justine said. "That much is obvious. Go talk to him. You're never going to be able to relax until you have."

Max curled a strand of her hair with her finger and glanced at the floor. "That's not just it. See, before I got to Manticore, I was sorta – I don't know. I was really into this thing with another guy."

"Did he know who you were?" Justine asked, furrowing her brow.

"Yeah, and he was totally okay with it," Max said. "It's a long story. And he meant a lot to me."

"Meant?" she queried.

"Means. Still does, I guess. But just not as much. At least not in that sense," Max said. She groaned. "I don't know anything about myself anymore."

"Look at it this way," Justine said. "Do you think that you'll ever see him again? Honey, this is Manticore. We don't exactly get vacation days to see whomever we please."

"I know that," Max said. "I do. But the thing with the other guy was just starting. How am I supposed to know how it was going to turn out if I never gave it a chance to start in the first place?"

"That's something you're going to have to work out on your own, Max," Justine said. She patted her shoulder sympathetically. "It'll work out in the end. Don't worry."

Max stood up. "Thanks," she said.

"No prob," Justine answered.

Max let out a breath and walked down the hall to Alec's cell.

* * *

"Can I come in?" Max asked.

"What? My clone isn't enough entertainment for you? I'm honoured, Max. Come right in," he said dryly.

She pursed her lips. So he was jealous.

"If you weren't being such a dumb-ass you'd know that I wanted… I wanted to see if you were okay."

"Peachy," he said.

"What crawled up your butt this morning?" she said irritably. "I'm trying to be decent here."

"I know," he said, smiling slightly. "Which has got me worried. You feeling alright?"

She rolled her eyes and he picked up a lizard from under his bed. "And as for what crawled up my butt…" he frowned. "I found this thing on my face this morning."

Max let out a burst of laughter. "You can't be serious. Those things are still hanging around after a few months?"

"Apparently," he said, dangling the lizard by its tail. "Must be attracted to my good looks." He grinned and she shook her head, closing her eyes as tears of laughter seeped through. When she opened them she nearly shrieked to see the lizard an inch away from her face. Alec pulled it back and smirked.

"It must be attracted to you too," he said. He dangled it closer again. "It looovvess you."

She smacked his hand and the poor animal was sent flying across the room.

"Hey. Cruelty to animals," he said.

"Right, and dangling it upside down was just so nice," she said.

"Sue me," he quipped.

She let another smile cross her face. It was funny how he had the ability to make her smile so much.

"Earth to Maxie," Alec said, waving a hand in front of her face. "So, what type of daydream did you have about me now? Ooh, wait. Let me guess. I was wearing a blue towel and you were frothing at the mouth. Am I right?"

"No, stupid. You were lying on train tracks tied up with rope and a train was aimed at you."

"But that just doesn't work," he said, shaking his head. "I can get out of rope."

She groaned and he chuckled. He slung an arm around her shoulder, letting her lean into him.

"You know, I think this is the beginning of a great friendship," he said.

_Or something more,_ he added mentally. He looked down at the angelic face resting against his chest.

_Much more.

* * *

_

Logan sat down in front of his computer, adjusting the microphones around him. He double and triple checked that the cameras were set to do their thing, and then he cleared his throat.

He was about to make the broadcast that would change everything.

* * *

"You asked for me?" Renfro said in a tone that suggested her time was about to be wasted. "I'm very busy, you know."

"You told us to alert you should anything regarding Manticore come up," a nervous man said. He pointed to the TV. "I think you should see this ma'am."

She directed her piercing eyes to the television and the colour drained from her face.

_The idiot! He's ruining everything! The whole world may die because of him!_

She turned up the volume and every word that was spoken resonated in her mind, reminding her of her failure.

"_Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. Your location has been revealed. Your secret is out. And now Manticore will be held accountable for its crimes. Manticore's facility is located an hour southwest of metropolitan Seattle."_

As if on cue, her cell phone rang. Her hands shook as she answered it.

"I understand," she said after a moment. Her shaky hands closed the phone and she took a deep breath to calm herself.

"Lock down the barricades. Not one transgenic can make it to the perimeter fence. Deactivate the charges," she said in a neutral voice. She directed her stare at another agitated man. "You. Bring me 452. I won't leave without her."

_The imbecile may not have ruined everything completely. With 452, at least we still have a chance. Let's hope it's enough._

And then, with a sound that seemed as loud as the pounding in her chest, the first explosion went off.

* * *

"What the hell!" Alec yelled as the earth moved. "What's going on!"

Max steadied herself against a wall. She smelled smoke and she held her breath, moving forward to open the door. Fear began to mount within her when it wouldn't budge. She banged on the door and she heard the same sounds echoing down the hall, telling her that the others were in the same predicament as she was.

"It's locked. Where's your knife?" she asked Alec.

He shook his head. "I don't have it. Biggs wanted to borrow it earlier." He was starting to cough.

Fear flooded through her and she continued to bang on the door. "Help!" she shouted, coughing as the smoke invaded her lungs. "Somebody help!"

Alec joined her, pounding on the door, but it seemed that everyone else was in the same bad situation as they were. They continued pounding until a second explosion threw them backwards into a wall.

"Ooh," Alec mumbled, rubbing his head.

He turned his head and saw that Max was starting to seize. Not too badly, but her body still convulsed rapidly.

"Max?" he asked.

"I'm alright," she said. "It's just a small one."

He moved closer and wrapped his arms around her. "We'll be okay," he muttered. "I promise."

* * *

Mina's head shot up when she saw an enormous flash of light. She watched in horror as the west wing of the facility blew up and flames licked the building.

"Oh my God," she whispered as the south side caught fire and another explosion went off.

She blurred down the hill and charged into the building. She heard the cries of her fellow transgenics and the pounding on the windows and doors echoing down the halls. She blurred forward toward the control room, refusing to look at the little X8s and X9s, some who were barely 3 years old. She blocked out the screams and zoomed into the control room, killing the two men locking down the doors without a second thought. She looked at the hundreds of keys and panicked.

_Which ones do I push? _she thought. Closing her eyes, she exhaled and calmed herself down.

_Okay, how about this one? _She pressed a button to her left and cringed as all the lights went out. Her night vision kicked in, and she pressed another button. Thankfully, a message popped up on the screen saying that cells in blocks one through four were opened. Understanding what to do, her fingers flew over the keys and she was relieved to see that she was making progress. She bit her lip and continued clicking away until another message popped up telling her that all the cells had been opened.

Nodding to herself, she blurred out of the control room to the block where her friends' cells were.

* * *

The door swung open and Alec jumped up, half carrying Max as they ran out.

"Who opened the cells?" Max coughed.

"I don't know," Alec said. "Let's just get out of here. Then we'll kill whoever tried to barbecue us."

"We need to find Renfro," Max said.

"What? Max, we have to get out of here. Renfro's not exactly the last person I want to see if I die. I could be haunted for the rest of my afterlife with her scary face," Alec said incredulously.

"We need to find out what's going on!" she yelled as another explosion rocked the building. "We need answers. We'll grab her and get the hell out of here!"

Seeing that she wasn't about to change her mind, he clenched his teeth and agreed. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the director's office.

* * *

"Where is 452?" Renfro shouted. "I will not leave without her!"

"Someone unlocked the cells, ma'am," a tech told her. He had a frantic expression on his face. "They're moving towards the perimeter fence."

"What!" Renfro shouted. She shoved the man out of his chair and saw various dots moving on Manticore's grounds. "No! This can't happen!"

"The X7s are trying to stop them," the tech said. "But there aren't nearly enough."

Renfro let out a yell of anger. "Just – Find me 452!"

"No need. I'm right here," Max said, knocking two guards out while Alec finished off the rest. She grabbed the woman from behind and pushed her into the wall.

"Now, you're going to tell me what the fuck is going on," she said.

"We need to go, 452," Renfro said. "The building is coming down."

"Tell me something I don't know," Max said. "Now answer the question."

Renfro seemed to fight with herself for a moment. "Eyes Only," she finally said. "He screwed everything up! The world may die because the imbecile exposed us!"

Max frowned. _Logan?_ "What are you talking about?"

"Max, we have to go!" Alec shouted. Another explosion went off and the three off them were sent flying backwards.

"Max, you okay?" Alec asked.

"I'm alive," she answered. She glanced to her right. "Renfro's isn't."

"Thank God. That's one nightmare eliminated," Alec responded. "Come on."

He pulled her up and they were right at the doorway when they heard her speak. Max walked up to the dying woman.

"Find Sandman," the woman croaked. "You're the one we've been looking for. Find Sandman and you'll receive all your answers." Renfro took her last breath and then her eyes fluttered close.

"Let's go." Alec took her hand again and they ran out into the hallway, trying to avoid the debris. They heard a groan and under a pile of concrete was Paige, bloodied everywhere.

"Paige," Max said, trying to lift the slab off of her. "Don't worry, you'll be okay."

"Tell the others to have a great life out there. Tell them to live my life too," Paige whispered. She closed her eyes and a trail of blood dripped out of her mouth.

"No," Max murmured. "No." Tears sprung to her eyes and Alec gently lifted her up.

"It's okay," he said. "It's okay. We need to go."

The soldier in her took control and she nodded, her face devoid of any emotion.

They ran out the doors just as one last explosion shook Manticore. They blurred to the perimeter fence, knocking out 2 X7s in the process, and then once at the top of the hill they turned around and watched the place where they had spent their childhood go up in flames.

"Hell really does burn," Alec remarked. She smacked his arm but didn't say anything.

"Where do we go now?" he asked.

Max bit her lip before answering. "To Seattle. I have some… friends there."

Alec noticed her hesitation before she said friends. _Was she involved with someone there?_

"I also need to find Ben, Tinga and Seth," Max said.

"We need to rest first and then we can look for them," Alec promised. "And the others."

With that, they walked towards their new life.

* * *

Tired and dirty, Max and Alec finally made it into Seattle and were traveling in Sector 9, the sector for the wealthy people. Max didn't know what she was thinking, bringing Alec with her to meet Logan, but she couldn't exactly ditch him. He'd follow her, she was sure. She saw him cast her quizzical looks when he saw where they were going, once asking whether they were going to break into some rich person's place to stay. Finally, she stopped in front of Fogle Towers.

"This place looks nice," Alec said, whistling. "Whose place are we going to break into?"

"No one's," Max said quietly. "We're here to see a friend."

"And the friend's name is…?" Alec asked.

"Logan Cale," she said without looking at him.

_A guy. Maybe someone she was in a relationship with before? _Alec already decided that he didn't like this guy.

"He's also Eyes Only," she said, figuring she could trust him.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Alec shouted. "This guy almost got us burnt to a crisp!"

"He probably didn't know that was going to happen," Max said weakly. Alec just shook his head as they walked inside the lobby. Scratch what he thought before. He was going to kick this guy's ass.

* * *

Someone stood in front of Fogle Towers minutes after Max and Alec had entered, a frown on their face.

"What on earth is Maxie doing here?"

* * *

"There's been complications," Lydecker said.

"Isn't there always?" the woman drawled.

"Don't get smart with me," he said. "This is serious."

"How serious?" the man said. He was a little less sarcastic than the woman.

"The Manticore facility was blown up," Lydecker said.

"What!" the woman shrieked. "Is – "

"Max most likely got out," he said. "Apparently, Eyes Only revealed Manticore's location. Renfro had no choice but to lock down the cells."

"This ruins everything!" the woman shouted. "They were all supposed to be in training for the Coming. It's getting closer, Deck. Did we lose all of them?"

"Someone unlocked the cells so most of them got out," he said. "But this makes everything much more difficult. When they were in Manticore they were being trained. Now they're out in the open, probably not going to keep up in their training. And we need them to be grouped together so that we can find them easily. They're probably going to spread out over the cities and they're going to expose themselves; it's only a matter of time."

"Time. The one thing we don't have enough of," the man said.

"Seattle's the closest city," the woman said. "Chances are the majority are going to settle there."

"I checked a little while ago. White's already on the case. We're going to have to work fast. It's us against him. He's going to start killing them so that we won't be able to use them against him for the Coming," Lydecker said. "So far, the bodies that we have uncovered didn't belong to Max. I'm pretty sure she got out. And as long as we have her, we still stand a chance."

"Let's hope you know what you're doing, Deck," the woman said.

"So now we have transgenics, X series and anomalies alike rampaging around. I wonder how the ordinaries are going to take that," the man said, snickering.

"It's not funny. You know how serious this is," Lydecker scolded.

"Just trying to make light of the situation, Deck," he said. "It's a lot better than worrying all the time." He rubbed at his eyes. "You've got a lot of wrinkles around here."

"Look," the woman said. She pointed to the sky and they all watched a faraway object that seemed like a shooting star. As it illuminated the darkness and the wind whipped her hair around, her barcode was revealed.

_X5-766.

* * *

_

A/N: So did you guys like this? I really hope you did. Feedback is always appreciated, as are any ideas you might have for this fic.

Spanishwon2123 – Thanks! Max is usually hard on Alec because that's the only way she knows how to deal with her feelings. LOL Typical Max.

4eva Jensen – Thanks! Max is going to teach Joshua later on when she finds him again.

Katydid49659 – Thanks! Biggs'll understand Mina eventually, but for now she has some things to figure out. I know the sky thing is confusing because I'm a little confused myself. I have a plot but it's a little sketchy. We'll see how it goes.

Lotamoxie – Thanks! Hehe. Logan meets Alec next chapter. This should be interesting.

Lakergirl08 – Thanks! Max meeting Logan next chap. Boy, is she going to be confused. As to your theory, yes, you're on the right track. Things will make sense as the chaps go on.

SitaTheLastVampire – Thanks! LOL Glad you liked the chapter so much.

Mystic Fayth – Thanks! Max and Alec are closer now, but stupid Logie is going to make things rocky. Then again, his interference just might make Alec kick his ass so it's all god. LOL

Sea Fire – Thanks!

Alana84 – Thanks! Logan and Alec meet next chapter. This is gonna be interesting… You should know who the woman is now and maybe you'll be able to guess the man.

Angel Of Darkness231 – Thanks!

Meri24 – Thanks! Christmas sure is an _explosive_ time of year. Get it? Hehe.

Nina430 – Thanks! Alec's gonna be more jealous of Logan than Ben now. This should be good…

Aleja21 – Thanks! Glad you like it!

Elle6778 – Thanks! About Case, you'll find out later. (I have to find an answer to that first. LOL) I just couldn't pass up the mess hall scene and I'm glad that you think my chapters have purpose. I know the action in this one kind of happened un-expectantly, but I think it makes some sort of sense. About the Risa thing, that's also going to come along later.

Victoria – Thanks!

Pillow of Doom – Thanks! LOL I've heard so many people say that. The Coming… is coming. LOL You'll understand the Lydecker thing soon.

L80bug – Thanks! Mina's messed up but as the chapters go on you'll understand her story. And Logan… We really need to get rid of that bum.

Darkangelgirl262 – Thanks! I'm guessing you know who the woman is now. About the sky… you'll understand as the chaps go on.

Bitto – Thanks! Alec will be more jealous of Ben until they have a little talk, but for a little while Alec's gonna be pissed off at Logan. (Logan bashing is always wonderful.) I'm not sure if Zack's going to be in this. We'll have to see.

Sakura – Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the Ben and Alec parts. More to come!

Calistra – Thanks! Alec meeting Logan next chap, ooh boy.

Thank you to everyone and feedback is much appreciated!


	20. Return of the Cat

A/N: I know, I know. It's been forever since an update. Forgive me? You'd think after first term is over they'd give us less homework, but nooooo. Anyways, I'm still happy because I got an 87.5 average. Hehe. Feedback is appreciated!

* * *

Alec noticed Max's hesitation as she stood before a door on the penthouse level. She reached out as if to turn the knob, but she pulled her hand back, as if unsure what to do. Alec tapped his foot impatiently and finally just wrenched the door open for her. She just stood there until he prodded her on the back and walked inside.

As soon as he stepped into the place, Alec knew this guy was loaded. Ornate decorations and paintings were seen all over the place, and Alec mentally wondered whether an old con artist was out of jail yet. He would certainly be interested in stuff like this.

"So, is this guy like Bill Gates?" Alec asked conversationally. He heard movement in another room as the person heard his voice, and a shuffling coming towards them. As the man came into view, Alec tensed and waited with baited breath.

It took a moment for the man to register who Max was, but when he did, Alec didn't like the display at all.

"Max," Logan breathed. "I knew it. I knew you were alive." He rushed forward and his arms went around her, not really noticing Alec, leaning forward to place a kiss on her lips. But at the last second, Max turned her head so that the kiss fell onto her cheek. Logan stepped back, looking confused. Alec took that moment to move closer to Max and put an arm possessively around her waist. Logan's confused expression became even bigger as he couldn't begin to understand what was happening.

The breath in Max's throat caught as she looked back and forth between Logan and Alec, who were currently staring each other down. One, on a mission to save the world and a love from her past. The other, on a mission to win her over and someone who she couldn't decipher her feelings for. She edgily moved out of Alec's arm and stood in between the both of them, breaking their stalemate as they both looked at her.

"Max, who's this?" Logan asked, opting for a more inquisitive approach, as opposed to flat out tackling the guy. Though from the quiet way they both entered, he guessed that the man was a transgenic too.

"This…" Max gestured with her hand weakly. "He's… he's… Alec," she said rather lamely.

"Alec," Logan repeated. "And who exactly is Alec?"

"The person standing right in front of you dumbass," Alec said, purposely misinterpreting his words so that he could snipe away at him. "Need another visit to the eye doctor?"

Logan scowled and looked at him. "No, my eyesight's just fine."

"Oh – oh, I'm sorry. I meant the plastic surgeon. And the hairstylist. You looked into the mirror lately Logie bear?" Alec said, fighting the incredible urge to grin like a maniac.

"Stop it," Max said in a low, warning tone, low enough so that it was only in the transgenic range. He shut up for a second.

Logan chose to ignore Alec's last comment. "I knew that revealing Manticore's location would bring you back to me. It worked! I found you."

_Okay, how does this idiot get off trying to barbecue us?_ Alec thought. Not being able to resist, he added, "And I'm sure that you just accidentally forgot the part where we almost became burnt toast. Did you even care that you must've killed at least a hundred people?" Alec's tone rose in the end, remembering Paige.

It was clear that Max remembered her too because the next time she spoke there was a slight coldness in her voice. "I appreciate you trying to get me out Logan, but maybe it wasn't the best way."

Logan's look was incredulous. "Are you kidding? You wanted to stay there?"

"No, I'm just saying it wasn't exactly the best way. Besides, I have to find Ben and Tinga now." Alec noted with satisfaction that her voice had definitely taken an edge.

He watched as Logan's eyes widened with surprise and a little… fear?

"Tinga's alive?" Logan said. "That's great. And… Ben." Alec noticed that he stumbled a little over his twin's name. He wasn't exactly best friends with Ben yet, but knowing that Logan shared his feelings made him defensive of the guy he had hated while growing up.

"Is Ben… stable?" he asked slowly. Alec noticed Max's eyes narrowing as he said that. He understood Logan's question. He had been placed in Psy-Ops for 6 months because of 493's defect, but he had been cleared and Ben was written off as a product of the environment. Back at Manticore, he had seemed alright.

"Ben's fine," Max said, stressing the last word. Whatever warmness Max had had at the beginning was beginning to evaporate.

_She's always touchy when it comes to her siblings, _Alec remembered. _Unfortunately I learned from experience. Though she's really cute when she's angry. Of course, that's always _after _she's kicked my ass._

"I think we're going to go," Max said. At Logan's dumbfounded expression, she made an attempt to be nice to the poor man. She couldn't deny that she still had feelings for him, even though they weren't even close to the same level that they had been.

"I'll come back tomorrow, okay? I need to see some other people and see if Normal's into necrophilia," she said.

Logan was too shocked to say anything, so she turned on her heel and walked out, pressing the button for the elevator. Before they left, however, Alec craftily nicked some expensive looking ornaments, and he looked up to see Max staring at him. He expected her to bawl him out, but to his surprise she said nothing, though he could have sworn that he saw a small smile on her face as they stepped into the elevator.

He looked down at his stolen items. _I can smell the moola already.

* * *

_

Mina walked the streets of Montana, carefully studying the faces around her. She was on full alert; as long as she was in enemy territory, anyone who looked at her strangely would be considered as a threat. Granted, many people were looking at her because of her looks, but she could usually tell the perverts from the killers.

She looked at the sky, noticing the darkness closing in. Well, that suited her just fine. It would give her the cover she needed from anyone trying to find her, and she could see in the dark which was an advantage she had over everyone else.

She was about to enter a coffee shop to get something warm to drink when she spotted out of the corner of her eye a small boy of about three years old, sitting by himself in the corner of an alley, hugging his body to him for warmth. The boy turned his head and their eyes met. The young boy's eyes showed intelligence and great knowledge, and as she saw several scorch marks and nasty burns on the poor child's skin, she knew that he had escaped from Manticore just as she did. The coffee forgotten, she made her way over to the boy. Wordlessly, she turned and lifted her hair to show him her barcode. Almost immediately, the tiny boy stood up and saluted her, acknowledging her superiority.

"My designation is X9-035," he said in a small but strong voice. "Are we returning to base, ma'am?"

She smiled kindly at him. "No. We've been betrayed by our own command. It's escape and evade now."

The boy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What are you talking about ma'am?"

"Manticore is our enemy now. Do you understand?" she asked.

Frowning, he nodded yes.

"You can call me Mina." She searched for a way to explain names to him. "People out here have names, not designations. So you should have one too."

He shrugged. "So, what'll my name be?"

She bit her cheek then chuckled. "How about Scorch?"

Scorch touched some burns on his arm and grinned. "Okay."

"Do you want to travel with me?" she asked him.

"Okay," he repeated. Mina pulled out a map and showed it to him. "I'm trying to find some of my unit but I don't know where to go. I bet you're my good luck charm. Point anywhere on this map and we'll go there."

"Anywhere?" he asked. She smiled. "Sure."

Scorch reached out, his hand moving towards Mexico, but suddenly he stopped and went in the other direction, his finger landing on Seattle.

"Can we go on top of the Space Needle?" he asked hopefully.

"Yup," she said. She held out her hand and he took it, and as they walked she used the time to think about her last encounter with Biggs, hoping that he got out all right. She was so caught up in thinking about him that 404 didn't even cross her mind.

* * *

Hex grinned in satisfaction as he heard a loud shriek coming from the bathroom. Then his grin faded as he heard a hurried movement, obviously someone coming to give him a beating. He jumped up and was almost out the door when someone blurred in front of him and slammed it shut. He winced as he saw her seething in front of him, and he braced himself for an onslaught.

"What the hell is this!" Lila shouted, flipping what used to be her rich black hair now turned blonde.

"I don't know sweetie, but it totally clashes with your dark skin tone," Hex said, shaking his head. "You should sue your stylist, because I don't think that's a trend nowadays."

He doubled over as he received a punch to the stomach and raised a hand in defeat. "Okay, I deserved that."

"We just got out of Manticore and you're already creating trouble!" she shouted.

"Put a sock in it! We're trying to sleep!" someone yelled from next door.

"Want me to put you under?" she yelled back, and then they were silent.

"I have to live up to my name, don't I?" he asked cheekily.

"No, you don't." Her shoulders sagged. "We don't even know who else made it out, Hex. Do you have to go making trouble?"

He suddenly felt remorseful. She was right. There was a big chance at least a few of them hadn't made it out. They both knew Andrew had died in the fire.

"Sorry," he said awkwardly. He shot her half a smile. "Wanted to know if I should go blonde but I didn't want to test that stuff on myself." He chuckled and whipped out another bottle. "This'll get rid of the dye."

She grabbed it and walked back into the bathroom and Hex turned around. He rubbed his head thoughtfully.

"Or was that the blue hair dye?"

* * *

Charlie Smith sat with his son in front of a fire, telling him the stories he so loved to hear about the princess.

"The castle was a bad place, you see," Charlie said. "But the brothers and sisters always looked out for each other. Until one day, Princess Max didn't feel well and her brothers and sisters were scared they'd take her away."

"So they ran away," Case continued.

"Yup. And the oldest princess, Princess Tinga, had a family. But after a little while, the evil king came and found her, so she had to go fight him," Charlie said.

Case was about to continue the story when he abruptly turned around, searching the shadows. Charlie looked at him, wondering what he heard or saw with his transgenic abilities.

"What is it sport?" he asked. He watched as his son's face grew into an enormous smile, and he stood up and started running to the front door. Charlie stood up and followed him, frowning as he saw no one there.

"Mommy's home," Case whispered, and Charlie watched in shock as Case opened the front door and Tinga stepped through.

"Hey honey," she said, and she walked toward Charlie as he stood frozen like a statue.

"Pen – Tinga," he stuttered. "You're alive."

"Yeah, and Manticore's gone, although there are probably going to be other people after me," she said. She looked down lovingly at their son and opened her arms wide. She picked him up and laughed.

"You're so much heavier now," she teased.

"I'm a big boy," he said.

"Yes, you are," she agreed. Finally, Charlie seemed to be able to grasp that she was actually standing there and he leaned forward to kiss her, some tears traveling down his cheeks.

"I can't believe you're alive," he murmured into her hair. His eyes were full of questions, but she shook her head. _I'll tell you later._

"Looks like Santa gave you your Christmas present, kiddo," Charlie said. Case smiled, but it faded slightly as he caught side of something outside the window.

"What is it baby?" Tinga asked. She let him down and he walked to the window, his eyes closed. When he opened them, he pointed to a bright light in the middle of the dark sky.

"It's coming," was all he said, and Tinga frowned at the bright light that seemed to be moving even faster towards the earth.

* * *

Original Cindy stretched her arms as she woke up, took a quick shower and then headed to the kitchen to make some coffee.

_Ever since Max died this stuff tastes crappier than ever, _she thought, drinking it anyway. She reached for the remote control and switched the TV onto the weather channel to see if it was going to rain again.

_God's probably had a divorce or something up there, 'cause it hasn't stopped raining._

She winced as she gulped down another cup of stale coffee, and watched the TV. A moment later, though, it was interrupted by a breaking news bulleting.

_Great. A sister can't even see what the weather's gonna be like without some bozos interrupting it. What happened now? Is the Senator's mother coming to town or something?_

"_We have just been alerted that there is a large comet headed towards earth. It is said to be the Christmas star, one that comes every two thousand years. Apparently, it's supposed to signify the end of the world, but no one knows why. Anyways, belief matters aside, this comet is rapidly approaching earth at an alarming rate. No one knows what kind of destruction it could do. This has been a breaking news bulleting. Stay tuned for more information."_

She furrowed her brows but then shrugged, thinking nothing of it. She had heard this before, in the tabloid Sketchy wrote for, and to her it was all just a bunch of dope.

_Even if this comet _is _going to bring about the end of the world, Original Cindy might as well go out with a bang._

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a knocking on the door. Wondering who could be there at such an early hour, she tightened the robe she had on and opened the door.

"Hey boo, what's kicking?" Max quipped, smiling more than Alec had ever seen before.

"Jesus, you're alive," Original Cindy said. Then her face broke out into an enormous grin. "Shoulda known. You kick those black-helicopter-dudes' asses?"

"Damn straight," Max said. "Besides, a cat's got nine lives."

"True that," Cindy answered, letting her in. "Thank those geeky guys that you didn't get a different animal DNA, huh?" For the first time, she noticed Alec. "And you brought some eye candy with you. Looks like you've been getting some. Come in, come in."

They all went into the living room, where Max and Cindy exchanged tearful hugs. Alec smirked, mentally locking the scene in his head to use for blackmail later.

"Wow. Max, X5-452, transgenic killing machine, is a blubbering girly-girl. I never would have thought," he said.

"Be quiet boy, or I will lay a smack-down on your ass," Cindy scolded. Alec raised his eyes heavenward.

"I'm going to get this treatment everywhere, aren't I? And I know it's cute, so why do women always want to beat up my ass? This obsession is really getting out of hand."

Max laughed, shaking her head. "You'll never grow up, will you Alec?"

"Why would I want to do that? Old people have wrinkles and a bunch of back problems."

O.C. smacked his head, and he rubbed it, then leered at her. Max couldn't help herself and started laughing hysterically.

"I don't swing that way, boo," O.C. told him. Judging from the disappointed look on his face, he wasn't expecting that.

"Well, there's a first for everything, right?" Alec said, swinging an arm around her shoulder. "You never know."

Cindy gently took his arm off. "It's tempting, but I'm still going to try to score a honey."

Alec pouted then looked at Max. "Well then, you'll have to keep me occupied, right Maxie?"

Original Cindy looked between the two of them with a discreet smile on her face. She never liked Logan all that much since he was constantly calling Max for some weird job, but this guy… She could tell he might just be the one to mellow out her best friend. She decided to ask Max about Logan later.

"Well, as much as I hate my job, Normal's gonna can my ass if I don't get there, so you guys coming or what?" she asked.

"Let's see if Normal believes in reincarnation," Max said. She turned to Alec, not really sure when she had become so easy-going with him. "You want to come?"

Alec shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

Max nodded and tugged his arm. "Let's go."

* * *

"Let me handle this," Cindy said to Max. They walked through the door and she shouted, "Hey everybody! Look who's back from six feet under!"

Many of the workers looked up and greeted her with a smile while Normal stared on disapprovingly, choosing to ignore the welcome back. He did, however, stare at Alec for a long period of time.

"Max!" Sketchy said, showing up right in front of them. "You almost scared me to death," he said, giving her a hug all the while cracking up at his pun.

"Hot run! 264 Beech Crescent!" Normal yelled.

"Got my name on it," Max said, walking over.

"No. No, your name means zilch to me Missy Miss. I thought I'd seen it all from you, but apparently not. Faking your own death was a new all-time low," Normal said.

"I did not _fake_ my own death, I… had a medical situation," she told him.

"Right, and you're also related to Queen Elizabeth," he said sarcastically.

_I think I actually am, _Max thought, but chose not to mention it.

"I'll believe you when you bring in a doctor's note or – " His eyes widened as she lifted her shirt without further ado, and Alec edged closer to be able to get a good look. Sketchy tried to too, but Original Cindy sighed and held them both by the back of their shirts. Max pulled her shirt down and Alec scowled at her.

Normal adjusted his glasses, as if to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "That's a nice, big – um – scar, you got there."

"Well, that was a one-time occasion, and you better wish that you memorized it because I'm never going to flash you ever again," Max said cheerfully. "So, can I have my job back?"

"It really wasn't her fault Sir," Alec said, playing up the old "good boy" attitude.

"Fine," Normal said grumpily. He lightened up a little when he looked at Alec in a way that may him vastly uncomfortable. "You want to work here too? We could sure use a strong, muscular and – "

"Yeah, sure, sure," Alec said hastily in order to get him to stop his description of him. He did not want to know where else he was going to go.

Max chuckled and went to her old locker.

"I can't believe no one has claimed it yet," she said, opening it up in surprise to see her old stuff still there.

"Well that fool," Cindy said, pointing to a guy with a black eye and a bandaged arm, "tried to but Original Cindy kicked his butt."

"Boy, would the people at Manticore love you," Alec said, taking the locker beside Max's. He looked up to talk to Cindy again, but someone entering Jam Pony caught his eye.

"Hey, isn't that one of your family members or something?" Alec asked. Max looked to see Seth walking in, Normal again admiring his physique. Seth didn't spare him a glance though. He just kept walking until he was in front of Max. His face had a heated expression.

"Why were you at Fogle Towers?" he asked.

Max appeared confused. "Why shouldn't I be?"

"Who were you seeing?" he asked.

"Some idiot who needs a haircut and an eye doctor appointment," Alec said. Apparently, Seth didn't mind the description.

"Logan Cale? Is that who you went to see? Why?"

"You know him?" Max asked. "How?"

"Did he try to recruit you, like he did to me? Is that why you ended up back there?" Seth continued, not answering her question. Alec began to see where it was going and his disliking of the man increased.

"What are you talking about Seth? I don't get it," Max said.

"Logan Cale is the reason why I ended up back in Manticore."

* * *

A/N: Did you guys like this chapter? I hope so. I will try to reply to all your reviews using the new method, so for all of you who aren't users, I'm afraid I have no way of contacting you. But I do want you to know that I appreciate each and every one of your reviews. Feedback is welcome! 


	21. The Truth Hurts

A/N: Yay, I've updated quickly! I'd like to hear all your ideas for this fic, so please review and give me feedback. I hope for all those who are not signed users that the fact that I can't reply to your reviews doesn't put you off from reviewing and telling me whatever you think's good/bad/or could be better about this fic. If you leave me your e-mail, I'll make sure to e-mail you bac with a reply. :) Please review, I hate to sound needy but I really crave your thoughts:p BTW, I've also started a new system that I'm not sure it going to work, but I'm going to try to write as many chapters as I can and post them along the way. Now, your reviews might just jog my memory that I have to update…

* * *

"How much further?" Samantha wheezed.

"Not far," Thomas replied. He looked at her, his forehead wrinkling with concern. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know what's wrong with me," she said, shaking her head. She touched a hand to her cheek and felt its burning heat. "I feel as if my whole entire body is going to burst into flames."

"Are you going into heat?" her twin asked. She stopped, leaning on her knees and panting for a moment.

"No," she said finally. "It feels like… I don't know. Something inside me is changing. Fast."

Her brother reached out to pull her close. "It'll be okay, Sam." He rested his chin on her head but when he started to pull away he caught a flash of silver in the sun. His heart beating faster, his fingers combed through her dark brown hair, plucking a few strands here and there. Sam winced.

"What are you doing?" she asked. He opened his hand in front of her eyes, letting her see the premature silvery wisps. She bit her lip, understanding what he was thinking.

"Hello there," said a voice behind them, far from warm and welcoming. Instead, the sound emitted a cruel and harsh biting within it, sounding almost mechanical and rendering the insides of their bodies cold and clammy. Slowly, the pair turned around to face a man with a cruel smile and face, perfectly matching the voice they had just heard.

"X5-273 and X5-274," he said. At the sound of their designations, they tensed.

He stepped a little closer.

"My name is White," he said. "I'd like to know some things about your fellow unit mates back at Manticore."

They turned around to bolt but found even more menacing-looking people surrounding them.

"That's not very nice," he chided. "Won't you help a man out?"

The next thing they felt were hits to the head, and White swam in and out of focus.

"Not to worry," they heard him say faintly. "Soon, we're going to be very best friends."

The next thing they saw was darkness.

* * *

Max, Alec and Seth sat around a table in Crash while Original Cindy got beer and entertained Sketchy so that he stayed away from their conversation.

"Start from the beginning," Max said. "How does Logan have anything to do with how you ended up back at Manticore?"

Ever since Seth had uttered Logan's name back at Jam Pony, he was almost unable to get out a sentence without cursing and getting all worked up. Not understanding where he was coming from, but following him to Crash with a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach, Max wasn't sure whether she wanted to hear the information her brother was about to give her or not.

Seth clenched his fists in barely restrained anger and blew out a breath of air to calm himself down. In the back of Max's mind, she registered that Alec had actually been silent for a long period of time, evidently interested in what Seth had to say.

"About 5 years after we escaped, when I was about 15, I was caught robbing a bank. Kinda stupid on my part, since most of the banks were dry because of the Pulse, but this one had some kind of special system installed so some of the accounts were recovered. I was living on the streets, sometimes hanging out with gangs so that no one bothered me or tried to put me in a foster home. I broke out of jail 6 hours later, piece of cake. After I walked for a few blocks, I noticed someone following me. I thought it was Manticore so I bolted, and the person didn't follow me. The next day, this guy came up to me, saying he knew who I was and didn't want to hurt me. I was suspicious but I followed him anyway."

There was a faint smile on Max's face. "Zack would've kicked your ass if he had found out. Tactical exposure."

"He introduced himself as Logan Cale. He didn't tell me he was Eyes Only yet, but I recognized him anyway by his features. He said he had a few jobs for me to do. In exchange, he wouldn't expose me to the world as a transgenic."

"Son of a bitch," Alec muttered,

Max massaged her temples, unable to grasp what she was hearing. Logan, the guy she had trusted with her life and risked her ass for on several occasions, the guy she had strong feelings for, had lied to her all this time. Not just about Seth, and about how he never mentioned that he had met her brother, but about who he really was. The sweet and caring man she had known was starting to morph into some ugly, lying monster. And as much as his betrayal began to sink in, as well as a tremendous anger, she still couldn't shake off some of the feelings she had for him. And that was what confused and frustrated her most of all.

"I didn't have a choice," Seth said, oblivious to Max's inner battle. "Of course I could've just snapped his neck and moved on, but he made it abundantly clear that if I did, the news was going to get out on his orders because he had entrusted the information in someone else. So I went along with it, pulling some of his jobs here and there, rescuing damsels in distress and crap. After a while, he started to be nicer to me, acting like we were buddies. I never lost sight though how he blackmailed me, but I played along just so that he'd lay off on the jobs a bit. Hiding from Manticore was harder with all the favours he was asking of me. It continued like that for a few months, until he had asked me to get some information from this warehouse on the outskirts of Seattle."

"Warehouse," Max muttered. "How do bad guys even think those places are shady anymore? Do they not get the hint from all those movies with bad guys hiding out there?"

"So I got in. Thing was, the place was completely empty. I was gonna go until I sensed someone else in there. Imagine my surprise to see Lydecker standing ten feet away from me."

"Wait, stop!" Max said, holding out a hand. "He turned you in? Logan turned you in?" She was pleading now, hoping against hope that it wasn't true.

_How could he do that? How? God Logan, how long have you lied to me?_

"Logan showed up, and Lydecker held up some disks. I was the exchange for the information. The asshole actually had the balls to say that he was sorry and wished it didn't have to work out that way. I tried to fight but they tazered me and the next thing I knew, I was waking up and in my worst nightmare."

He stopped, silent, as he watched Max shake her head slowly, disbelieving.

"He couldn't have done that. Logan would never have done that. Seth… he wouldn't!" Max said.

"That's what I thought," he answered. "I didn't like the guy but I didn't think he'd double-cross me that way."

All the memories and fun times she'd had with Logan flashed through her mind. His cousin's wedding, the time when he had started to walk again, the time when they finally confessed their feelings for each other… Then she remembered the way Logan had always looked at Zack, so superior, and the way Logan had acted when they had gone to Cape Haven. The time before he had been kidnapped when he had sent her to that airbase on wrong intel, and almost got her caught because of it. She remembered the way he had been more defensive of Dr. Vertes than Jace, thinking of her sister only like an assassin.

_He's always been prejudiced towards us. I thought he was the first person to accept me for who I was, but he didn't. He always tried to change me. Like how he hated it when I just dropped in and out without making a sound, or stole something, because it wasn't what a normal girl would do. He had asked Zack in a condescending tone if all the people in our family were thieves. Did he not remember that I was one too? He had hated Ben without even knowing him, because of what Ben was doing. Granted, it wasn't good, but Logan didn't even know him before he passed judgement. _

"Max?" Alec asked. His voice was a rare gentle, and he touched her arm. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay!" she snapped. He moved his hand away and had such a hurt look on his face that she reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm not mad at you. I just – I need time to think this out, okay? I need to go see Logan."

There was a low growl in Alec's throat. "No way are you seeing that bastard alone."

"I'm fully capable of kicking his ass if I need to," she said. She managed a small smile. "You've given me a lot of practice, remember?"

"I don't like it," he said, scowling.

She flicked a finger at his cheek. "Don't do that or your face'll get stuck that way."

Seeing how she was trying to lighten the mood, he played along. "See? I knew you cared about my looks."

"Not really," she said shrugging. "But you do, and I don't need to hear you bitching and complaining about how you look like a wrinkly potato right now."

"But dahling," he said, putting on a Texan accent. "The bitching department is really your area of expertise."

"Touché," Seth said. Max glared at her brother without really any ire and her smile faded.

"I gotta go," she said. "I'll see you later."

She left the table and signaled to Original Cindy that she was leaving, then headed out the door. Seth and Alec looked at each other for a mere ten seconds before they took off in pursuit to watch the fireworks.

* * *

Logan sat at his desk, head in his hands, trying to focus on some work he was doing but not succeeding. His thoughts kept leading back to Max, and all that had happened in the few hours she had been back.

_I don't understand. I thought we'd be able to pick up where we left off. And I definitely didn't like the way that Alec guy was looking at her. Who does he think he is, going after my girl like that. Then again, she's been through a lot. She's probably confused, and knowing Max, she's probably uncomfortable expressing her feelings for me. _

He heard an almost inaudible footfall and swiveled around in his chair, smiling upon seeing the intruder.

_Speak of the cat, _he thought. But his smile soon faded as he took in her posture and the look on her face. Something told him she wasn't happy with him at all.

"Max," he said, standing up, but not getting within physical range just in case she wasn't feeling too cheery. "I'm glad you came back. I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"Me neither," she said, her tone cold. "And don't take that as a compliment."

He knit his eyebrows together. "I don't understand."

Max decided she would get straight to the point. "Seth? Backstabbing? Ring any bells?"

She watched as the colour drained from his face and felt her throat close up as his reaction confirmed what Seth had told her, not that she had doubted her brother but it was all the much harder having it come from Logan. Still, her face remained impassive.

Making a wise choice in not trying to ask her how she found out, Logan opened his mouth to offer a full apology.

"Max, I know I should have told you a long time ago. Ever since we first met. I know I shouldn't have kept something like that from you. Especially not about your brother. But when we started to get close, I just didn't know how to tell you. I was afraid you'd hate me."

"That's no excuse," she bit back. "How could you have handed him back there on a silver platter? You must have had some idea of how bad it was for us back there. But it still didn't matter, did it? Because you look at us the way the rest of the world would if they found out, like we're inferior and wrong. So what if you just handed a man his death sentence? It didn't matter, did it?"

"That's not true," he protested. "It's – "

"Like hell it's not true!" she shouted, losing her cool completely. "Because once again, saving the god-damn fricking world comes before anything else! As long as you get your pat on the back for doing a good job, you don't care about how it got completed! Not even the lives you sacrificed!"

"Max – "

"No, you listen to me for once! I'm going to be the one who does the talking. I _trusted_ you. I went out of my way for you, almost getting caught because of your stupid little jobs! Remember the Braganza kidnap? I'm not saying that poor woman didn't deserve to get her daughter back, but I was less than a meter away from Lydecker after ten years because of that! And if she had told you to stick it like I did, she wouldn't have lost her daughter in the first place! You could have at least had the decency to tell me about my brother – who I didn't know was even alive – and forget your selfish reasons not to!"

Her chest heaved as she tried to regain her breath, all the while looking at Logan whose eyes grew bigger with every accusation she threw at him.

"Max, I know I handled that wrong, but you can't mean all this," he said, gesturing weakly.

Her eyes turn pitiable and she averted them so that they wouldn't meet his. "I'm sorry, Logan. I just don't think that I can trust you anymore."

She turned and out of her peripheral vision, she spotted a reflection of Alec and Seth, distorted by translucent glass. She blinked then walked out, not looking back even once.

* * *

"Hey Mina!" Scorch shouted. "Come look!"

Mina put down the remote and walked over to the window, trying to spot what Scorch was so avidly looking at. She smiled down at the little boy, who she had grown fond of during the past two days.

"There!" he said, pointing. She followed his finger and saw a shooting star in the sky.

"Make a wish," she said.

"It's not a shooting star," he said, surprising her. His eyes were fixed on it, and from the look on his face she could see him gathering his thoughts together. "It doesn't have the same chemical substances as a shooting star. The rim is a different colour. See? It's flashing between gold and red."

She ruffled his hair. "You have too much time on your hands." Still, she listened to what he said and took a second look. She frowned as she realized what he was saying was right.

"Huh," she said. "Well, that's a little strange. It's probably nothing though." She pulled the curtain down and plopped down on a bed in the room she had rented. They had gotten in Seattle very early in the morning and it was the first place she could find without falling asleep.

"You okay kiddo?" she asked. "You look a little sad."

"I'm just wondering whether the rest of my unit had gotten out," Scorch said. He looked down. "My best friend, X9-756, was in Psy Ops when the fire broke out. I don't know if she was in a good condition to make it out."

Mina motioned for him to sit next to her and he cuddled up against her, resting his head in her lap.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I know it's hard. I don't know if some of my best friends made it out either. But you just gotta hope for the best."

"Manticore said that hope was a false sense of belief and that if you want something to happen you have to go out there and do it," Scorch said.

"Well, Manticore also said that having friends and feelings was phony sentimentality, but that's not true, is it?" she asked.

"Nope," he said.

"And what do we think of Manticore?" Mina asked.

"Manticore is a poopy stick in the mud and good riddance," Scorch recited.

"Good," she said, smiling. _Well, that was better than "They're fucking assholes who tried to screw us over and to hell with them"._

"Time to get to sleep," she said.

"But I don't wanna," he said, trying unsuccessfully to cover up a yawn.

"Won't, don't, bla bla bla," she said, tickling him. Minutes later, he was fast asleep.

* * *

Three pairs of eyes watched as a beautiful sight, a seemingly harmless shooting star, spiraled towards the earth. It was gold one moment and then furious red the next, and it was sparkling with fervor. One figure averted his delicate eyes away from the star, rubbing them as he waited for the other two to do the same.

"It's been confirmed that Renfro is dead," Lydecker said. "The burnt remains of her body has been found."

"That's one less bitch to deal with," the woman said.

"She was helping us, don't forget that," Lydecker said, but not contradicting her comment. "And now that she's gone, our job's going to be all the much harder. We need to track down all of them and get them to listen. Train them. That's going to take time, something that we don't have."

"It might be time to approach Max then, Deck," the woman said. "If we tell her, she might be able to do something about it. She's already got some of the transgenics on her side despite the fact that she's an '09er. They're more likely to at least acknowledge her than us, who are definite traitors."

"She might be right," the man said. "Max is the one who really needs to know anyway. She needs to know the prophecy to be ready."

"But even we don't know the whole prophecy," Lydecker said, obviously frustrated. "We have no way to contact Sandman. He disappeared five months ago, a little before the raid. No one's heard from him since, and even our best trackers haven't found him."

"Way to go, Sandy," the woman said dryly. "The old guy's got skills."

"X5-766! This is not a laughing matter," Lydecker growled.

She rolled her eyes. "Kidding. I know it's not, don't be such a stiff about it. Anyways, I still vote we let Max in on it, even if we can't tell her everything. She needs to at least know what we do."

"I second that," the man said.

"We'll have to run this by the Committee," Lydecker said, unsure.

"Screw the Committee, Deck. Are you a man or a pussy?" the woman shot at him. "You gonna wait around like a good little boy to be told what to do or are you going to actually make a decision without your mommy holding your hand?"

"I don't appreciate your language, X5-766," he said. She rolled her eyes.

"For all the times you act like you're our father, you're so formal. My name's not X5-766, it's Eva. Get something straight in your boring life for once."

* * *

Max stepped forward and stood on top of the place that she always went to to sort out her thoughts.

_It's been such a long time since I've been on top of the Space Needle._

She looked down from her sacred place, observing the scurrying people so much farther down. The sight had once made her feel like she wasn't all alone, like there were other people who had problems as well. Not as big as hers, of course, but problems nonetheless. It still made her feel that way, but now she felt strangely secluded and apart from them. She supposed being with Logan had given her a sense of normal, and in turn integrated her with all the ordinaries of Seattle. Without him, she felt like a completely different species.

_I am, though. And I should be proud of that._

"Not thinking of jumping, are you?" she heard behind her.

"If I was, don't you think I would have done it already? Besides, considering all the times I've died or almost died, I'll probably come back in a few days anyways."

"The amazing Maxie. Piss her off and she'll come back, embarrass her and she'll come back _and _make your life a living hell."

She pursed her lips.

"Alec, they could put you in a kindergarten class and you'd blend in perfectly with all the other kids," she said.

"Do five-year-olds hit on all the teachers?" he asked her. He saw the corners of her mouth twitch, and he continued, knowing it was only a matter of time until she started laughing. "Ripley's would have a field day."

"I have no idea how you ever became a C.O.," she said.

"I'm charming," he answered.

"You flirted with Renfro?" she asked, grinning widely. He grabbed at his throat and fell to the ground, pretending to be dead.

"You're sick, woman. Sick I tell you."

"I didn't think you set your standards that low," she responded.

"You obviously did," he said impulsively, his mouth dropping open as he realized what he had said. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said, shrugging and feigning nonchalance. "You're right. I just didn't… I didn't think he was like that."

Alec wrapped his arms around her waist tentatively and just to tease him, she raised a hand as if to hit him. He winced, but instead she took his face in her hands. He relaxed and watched her.

"I don't know what I'm feeling right now, or how it's going to work out," she started slowly. "But if you… if you can just be patient with me – I don't know…"

He kissed her in answer to her question and they didn't speak but seemed to reach a silent understanding. She turned around in his arms again so that her back was against his chest.

"Does this mean that I'm going to finally be able to get some?"

* * *

A/N: I think this chapter cleared some things up, don't you? Now you know who X5-766 is. If you get where I'm coming from, you'll probably be able to guess who the man is. Love it/Hate it/Think something can be better? Please review and tell me. I crave reviews. LOL Luv ya guys, xoxo –aod78 


	22. The Beginning of the End

A/N: Another fast update! Yay! Please review; your encouragement motivates me to write more. BTW, check out my forum. You might like it. Happy holidays everyone!

* * *

"What do you want me to do with them?"

"Just keep a watch on them Otto, and don't let them out of your sight for a second. Remember the last time you turned your back on one of these freaks?" White asked.

"I understand," Otto replied. "But shouldn't we ship them off to the lab for analysis?"

"No," White answered. "I've got some plans and I need these transgenics to execute them."

"I highly doubt they'd be willing to cooperate, no matter what we offer them," Otto said.

White had to resist the incredible urge to roll his eyes. _No shit, idiot. _"Of course not," he said sarcastically. "But I think if we all settle down for a nice cup of tea and some biscuits, everything will be just dandy."

Otto took the hint and closed his mouth.

"You may go," White said, dismissing him with a wave of his hand. As soon as Otto was out the door, two men dropped from the ceiling and landed neatly on the ground. White fished around in his coat pocket for what he was looking for, and then handed some pictures and tasers to the men.

"You know what to do," he said. "Make sure the job is done properly. I can't afford any screw-ups, do you understand?"

They nodded and disappeared as silently as they came.

White walked up to the one-way window and watched as the two X5s were rudely awakened. He looked down at a remaining picture remaining in his hands. He flipped it over and for what seemed like the hundredth time, scanned the DNA work-up.

_If you are the One, I'll kill you before you even realize it._

He glanced out a window in the far corner of the room, mesmerized in the light coming even closer to Earth with each passing second.

_Ka'raff tu nes'tor miri'acha. Here comes the end.

* * *

_

"You know, I'm so underappreciated for all that I do," Alec said, walking into Jam Pony a week later at Max's side.

"That's not true Alec," Max said. "A punching bag is a necessity in life, and I appreciate the fact that I have a living and breathing one. You've got to be one of a kind."

"In more ways than one," he murmured under his breath. "Care to find out how? Too bad we weren't put in the breeding program or you wouldn't have missed your opportunity." Max blushed but offered a quick retort.

"Buddy boy, you're the one missing out," she said, moving towards the lockers in the back. Alec stopped short, shocked, and then hurriedly rushed after her.

"I dare you to prove that," he said eagerly. She winked and shook her head, grabbing a package that Normal had carelessly thrown to her and depositing it in his hands before he had a chance to object.

"Hey Max!" Sketchy called, holding the pay phone receiver against his chest for a moment. "Come tell my friend what you and Original Cindy do all the time. Sleepover parties and such, right?"

"Sure Sketch," Max said easily. "Then we put on our sexy lingerie, parade around to mood music and do each other's nails." He mouthed a thanks to her and continued talking.

Alec's eyes grew as wide as saucers while he watched Max walk away to grab some lunch with Original Cindy.

"We have so got to get invited to one of these things," Alec said. "Feel up to sneaking into their apartment and getting front row seats?"

"Totally," Sketchy agreed.

Alec looked at the package in his hands, then quickly shoved it at Sketchy. He slapped his shoulder.

"Thanks man, I owe you one," he said quickly.

"Hey!" Sketchy yelled, but Alec was already gone.

* * *

"Thanks," Alec said, taking the money out of the man's hands. "Nice doing business with you. I guarantee you'll buffen up in record time."

The man closed the door and Alec walked down the steps, exhaling slowly. _I suppose if I was a good vendor, I'd tell him that that stuff can make his heart explode. On the other hand, it's his fault he's doing shady business, so he can't really hold me accountable for his own stupidity. Then again, there's always a chance that Max might find out and get really pissed a me, and that means that she won't really be in a "let's give Alec some love" mood._

He stood on the steps for a minute, debating what to do. Finding a compromise, he fished a pen out of his backpack and scribbled a note on an old receipt. He wedged it into the crack of the door, and left, feeling satisfied.

_She can't say I didn't try to tell him._

He started down the streets of Seattle, observing his surroundings and committing them to memory in the back of his mind just in case he'd ever need a few escape routes, when he caught a glimpse of golden blonde hair whip around the corner a block ahead of him. His heart rate sped up as he picked up the pace to chase after the person. He and Max had spent the past few days searching for some of the others, not knowing who had made it out or not. If he had found one of their unit, then that was like having a little part of their makeshift family back. And if the person was who he thought it was, then Max would certainly be happy with him.

_Max being happy equals possible agreement to be locked up in a room for twenty-four hours, _he thought.

He whipped around the corner and his heart sank when he found the street to be almost deserted, no one with the same blonde hair in sight. He groaned and turned around to go back to Jam Pony, but a voice from behind halted him in his tracks.

"Alec?" an uncertain voice called. Two figures came out from behind a dumpster and stood in front of him. "God, you scared me. I thought someone was following me."

"Mina," he said. He spotted a small boy of about three years hiding half of his body behind her, his arms wrapped around her leg. He raised his eyebrows.

"Looks like you and Biggs finally got it on," he remarked, snickering under her glare that could almost match Max's.

_Almost, but not quite._

"This is Scorch," she said, indicating the small boy. "He's an X9."

Alec's eyebrows went even higher if possible. "Scorch? And here I was thinking no one could come even close to Max in the bad-naming category. A few days ago we found this six-year-old kid hiding out in the back of this restaurant and she named him Scrubs." He shook his head. "Poor kid. He'll never get over the humiliation."

"I like my name," Scorch said defensively. "It's cool."

"Sure kid," Alec said.

"It's Scorch, not kid," he said.

Alec looked at him in surprise, and his eyes went from Mina to Scorch who both sported the same matching scowls. He threw his hands up. "Alright, jeez." He looked at Scorch. "You've been hanging around her too long." He grinned. "Now me, on the other hand, would be a perfect role model. I don't have a bad attitude or violent tendencies. Though you might want to stay away from Max. She's got horror movie potential."

"Max is with you?" Mina asked, relief showing clearly on her face. "Thank God she's alive."

"What am I, chopped liver? No happiness that I'm okay too?" Alec said, pouting.

"I didn't worry about you because your big ego would have undoubtedly saved you," she said dryly. Scorch tugged on her arm.

"Is Max your friend?" he asked.

"Yes, and she's really nice," Mina said.

"Oh yeah, go and lie to the kid," Alec muttered. He opened his mouth to speak but they all spun around when they heard a loud scream. The three tensed and Alec tilted his head slightly to the side to locate the sound.

_Over there, _he signaled. He tapped his arm and made fast movements, pointing at each of them. They nodded and they spread out, their training kicking in and keeping them as stealthy as possible.

"Oh crap," Alec murmured.

Three anomalies were streaking through the street and gathering a crowd.

And closing off their path were some Feds and the most menacing-looking guy Alec had ever seen, with a shark smile and pitiless eyes. He zoomed in on the man's badge, and even the name sent a wave of shivers through him for no particular reason that he could understand.

_Ames White.

* * *

_

"Hey! Get off your ass, Missy Miss, and get to work!" Normal screeched. "I know you can hear me. Now go. Fly. Vamoose. These packages need some TLC."

"We have so got to get him laid," Original Cindy remarked as she and Max stood up from the table where they were eating. Max snorted.

"Any honey interested in him is going to either be on drugs, a psychopath, or on the brink of death," she said.

"True that," Cindy agreed. "So, what's going on with you and your boy? Come on, spill the deets."

Cindy had asked this question often enough for Max to know that she was talking about Alec, not Logan. She shrugged in noncommittal answer.

"Don't give me that," Cindy said.

"I don't really know," Max said. "I mean, I like him – that much I know."

"Amen to that," Cindy said. "You finally got over your denial issues. I was wondering if I should take you to a doctor."

Max grinned. "I just don't know how much or if it's real. I thought I loved Logan, remember? And look how that turned out."

"You just got to follow what's in your heart, boo," Original Cindy said. "I was watching this movie, and they described love as 'not being able to breathe without the other person in the room'. Though that's complete bullshit, because you're still alive. But I guess they meant figuratively."

"I don't know," Max said honestly. "Back at Manticore, we didn't deal with this kind of stuff. Emotions were taboo, something that would get us killed. It's just hard to figure out all this stuff when I've been taught my whole life that it was wrong."

"Then he'll be new to this too," Original Cindy reasoned. "You can figure it out together."

"That's the thing," Max said. "I feel like he's not exactly new to this. Call it sixth sense, or whatever, but I feel like he's holding something back from me. I know we're not exactly best buds who share all their secrets with each other, and hell, I didn't even like him a few months ago, but I really don't know much about him other than that he's a pain in the butt who's funny and my brother's clone."

Original Cindy wiggled her eyebrows. "Then I suggest you _get to know each other_."

Max laughed. "You're nasty."

"I don't think he'll have any objections," Cindy said.

"Hey guys! Guys!" Sky yelled from Jam Pony's entrance. "There are these mutant things running down Main Street! Come see! There's a bunch of Feds and people!" He dashed out the door and Max and Original Cindy froze.

"Maybe it's one of those transgenics that Eyes Only was talking about," Sketchy said excitedly. He yanked Max's and Cindy's shirts. "Let's go see!"

He ran out the door after Sky, and after looking at each other, they both chased after him.

* * *

"Contain the crowd," White ordered. "We don't need any of this getting out more than it's going to."

"Yes Sir," several men said, saluting and pushing the crowd back.

"Mutant freaks," White muttered, carefully watching the three trapped anomalies. He motioned for the snipers to switch their guns to taser.

"The guys at forensics will be very interested in taking them apart," White said into his comm. "Don't shoot to kill unless I give the order or it's absolutely necessary."

"Understood," came a chorus of voices. He waited and a moment later, the comm. crackled to life.

"We're in position," the leader said. White held his hand up, waiting for the most opportune moment for them to strike…

* * *

"Alec, what's going on?" Max asked, finding him easily in the crowd due to his features. She shoved through some people and found herself at his side. Her eyes widened perceptively as she caught sight of the three trapped transgenics.

"Joshua's there," Max whispered to him. "We need to get him out of there."

"We can't Max, we'd risk exposure," he answered back.

"We can't just let him die!" she hissed.

"She's right Alec, we can't," a voice said on the other side of him. Max frowned at the familiar voice and her face broke out into a smile. "Mina!"

She hugged the other transgenic and Alec watched with a small smile.

"Am I in your good graces now?" he asked. Mina pursed her lips to keep from laughing.

"You're actually going out with Casanova now?" she asked.

"Now's not the time," Max answered evasively. "We've got to get Joshua out of there."

"We can't just go running into the streets and kicking everyone out of our way, Max," Alec said, making sure to keep his voice only at the transgenic's hearing range so that no one around them would overhear. "If we're going to pull this off, it needs to be discreet."

"Little fella!" Joshua shouted from the street, having spotted Max. Max cringed and held a finger to her lips as people looked around to see who he was talking to.

"Little fella!" he called again. "Help!"

"Come on, we need to get out of here," Original Cindy said in a low voice.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" Sketchy asked, his camera up and ready to snap a few shots.

"To get a better view," Max said quickly.

"Who's your friend?" he asked, looking Mina up and down.

"In between two guys who've got the hots for her," Alec answered. "So don't bother to try. She's in an emotional crisis right now." He winced as she smacked his head and they pushed through the crowd to the back.

Max scanned the perimeter. "I can't see a way for us to get them out of there. This place is a lockbox. Snipers on the roofs, those Feds at the other side, and not to mention the hundreds of people here."

"I wish we could just shrink down to the size of an ant or something," Alec said. He blew out a sharp breath of air and his gaze fell on Scorch. "Wait a minute. We've got a midget with us. How about we let those three get tasered, get shorty over here to knock out the driver in the van and drive to some rendez-vous point?"

"That's got to be the dumbest plan I've ever heard," Mina said. "He can't even reach the pedals you moron."

"I know how to drive, though," Scorch said, speaking up for the first time. "And I can probably find something to stick against the gas pedal. Back at Manticore, in Tactics, Trainer Wilkins taught us that nothing is impossible."

"No way," Mina said, throwing a protective arm around him. "He's just a kid."

"He knows how to drive a car?" Original Cindy asked, visibly impressed. "Damn."

"Yeah," Max said. "We didn't get taught until we were six."

"They've been stepping up all the training though," Alec said. "During the time you '09ers were still out there, training got a lot worse and a lot harder. They wanted everyone to be able to do and know everything as soon as possible."

"Weird," Max said.

"There's no way I'm letting him go into all that danger," Mina repeated.

"Look, I know you really got into the mommy role while you were taking care of him, but he's not a regular little toddler, Mina," Alec interrupted. "He's fully capable of doing this. It's the only chance we've got, do you understand that?"

Max watched as Mina seemed to be giving in, but something nagged at the back of her mind. Mina looked so helpless now and finally everything clicked. Stuck between what to do with 404 and Biggs, Mina needed some constant in her life, and she had grabbed out for Scorch. The little kid was like her teddybear, her lifeline while she was lost at sea. And she was afraid of losing the one thing she still had.

_Whoa. Since when was I so deep and understanding? Mental note: Check in with Dr. Carr._

"Alright," Mina said. She let go of Scorch who blurred through the people with ease, none of them feeling him move except for the telltale breeze on their legs. They were all too enraptured in the scene before them to notice.

Max, Mina, Alec and Original Cindy watched as White brought his hand down, and tasers shot out from all directions. Max shut her eyes so that she couldn't see Joshua's look of pain on his face, but Alec kept watching to make sure that Scorch had subdued the driver. Even though at three he was a good fighter, he still couldn't do as well a job as an X5 or X6.

In the rearview mirror, Alec saw Scorch holding out his hand with a thumbs up, and he knew that everything went down okay. Mina had seen it too and appeared a little more relaxed than she had previously been. They watched as the three unconscious anomalies were loaded into the back of the van, and it promptly started to drive away.

"All right people," a cop said, waving them back. "Nothing to see here. Go home."

The foursome retreated quickly, Sketchy staying back, frantically trying to snap a shot, and walked down to the waterfront where Scorch should have driven to. They spotted the van and hurried over, but when they flung the doors open no one was inside. Mina began to panic.

"Where the hell are they?" she said. "Did someone follow them?"

"They're right here," a female voice said. They turned around and there stood Joshua, Scorch and a man and woman they didn't recognize. The other two anomalies had already taken off.

"Who are you?" Alec demanded. He watched as the woman fixed her gaze on Max, and their eyes locked.

"Why don't you tell him, Maxie?" she said.

Max felt a rush of familiarity when she stared into the blonde's eyes, but she couldn't quite place the face. She looked at the long blonde hair, sharp blue eyes, and the pale white skin on the woman.

_She looks exactly like Zack. _At the thought of her brother she felt another pang of guilt and sorrow in her chest, but she pushed it out of her mind to focus on the stranger in front of her. Those features…

_Flashback_

"_Time for bed," a strong female voice commanded._

"_You're not the CO while Zack's away, Eva," Krit whined. "Maxie is. And she didn't say that we have to go to sleep."_

"_We have a long day tomorrow," Eva insisted. "It's observation day. We've got to be up to par or you know what happens."_

"_You're no fun," Zane muttered._

"_She's right guys," Max said slowly. "Let's just get to sleep."_

_They all climbed into their bunks and for a minute there was a bunch of rustling as they tried to find a comfortable position._

"_And I thought having Zack away would mean vacation," Krit mumbled. "I didn't think we'd have his clone be a party pooper."_

"_Genetically, I'm not his clone, Krit," Eva answered, letting a rare smile stretch across her face. "But thanks for the compliment."_

"_Being like Zack isn't a good thing," Zane said. "He's neurotic."_

"_Hush," Tinga scolded. "Get to bed."_

"_Yes mommy," they all chorused, Eva included._

_End Flashback_

"Eva," Max said slowly. Eva let out a smile and Max knew she was right.

"Oh my God," she whispered. "You're… alive? Are all our siblings alive? Everyone I thought was dead is coming back." She looked at the man and did a double take. She'd recognize him anywhere.

"Jack?"

"Got it in one, baby sister," he said.

"Wait, hold on a second," Alec said. "I hate to interrupt your special happy family reunion moment, but how the hell are you alive?"

"You were never very patient, were you 494?" Eva said. "I guess you really are like Ben."

Alec bristled. "No, I'm not."

"Lydecker shot me above the heart, making it seem like I had died. And Jack wasn't dead when you saw him being dissected, Maxie. They had drugged him during the experiment and then patched him up after. They couldn't risk losing us, not with everything that's about to come," Eva explained.

"They?" Mina asked.

"The Committee," Jack said. "We weren't created just to defend this country, contrary to what we had thought. It's so much bigger than that. And everyone in our unit has a special part in the prophecy to fulfill."

"What prophecy?" Original Cindy asked.

Jack looked at her. "You're not one of us."

"She's as good as," Max said. "If they couldn't afford to lose us, then – "

"Zack isn't alive, Maxie," Eva said sadly. "He had already unknowingly fulfilled his part. He was your protector and did what he had to do keep you safe. And that was saving your life."

Max clenched her fists and her eyes misted over, but she didn't let her tears fall. When she looked up, her eyes were filled with determination.

"What is the prophecy about? And how do you know it isn't all a load of crap? Because that's what it sounds like to me," she said.

"It's not," Lydecker said. He stepped out of the shadows and all the transgenics' eyes narrowed and their bodies tensed.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Max spat.

"You needn't be afraid of me Max," he said. Eva rolled her eyes.

"Oh, so you'll call _her_ by her real name but not us? That's so unfair."

"Be quiet Eva," Lydecker said.

"Don't tell me to be quiet, Deck," Eva said irritably.

"You were the one who wanted to approach her, weren't you? So how are we supposed to explain everything to her if you don't be quiet?" Lydecker asked, his voice never raising.

Alec looked on in stunned silence. "Have you been taking anger management classes? Because Maxie here could sure use some."

Jack chuckled but his laughter soon died in his throat at Max's deadly glare.

"Look, we don't know the whole prophecy," Lydecker said. "But we'll tell you all we know. Sandeman's the only one who knows everything, and he's… unreachable."

Eva snorted. "Yeah, right. His chumps can't even find an 80-year-old man. Is that pathetic or what? He moves slower than a snail."

"Father?" Joshua spoke up excitedly. "I saw Father. At Manticore."

Everyone stared at him.

"You what?" Lydecker said.

"Father come visit Joshua at Manticore, before fire," he said. "He said to Joshua to get little fella to teach him how to fight. Then Father said to teach other downstairs people."

Eva, Jack and Lydecker looked at each other.

"I thought we were only training the X-series and Psy-Ops groups. He wants to train the other divisions too?" Eva asked.

"Maybe this thing's bigger than he let on," Jack suggested.

"What thing?" Alec said, frustrated. "We're still here and waiting for answers, you know."

"Be quiet, 494," Lydecker said.

"Yes Sir," Alec answered immediately, cringing after he had said it. "Damn it."

"Old habits die hard," Max said.

"Look!" someone shouted. They turned their heads and saw a frazzled homeless man pointing at the sky. Even though it was only midday, dark clouds covered the sun and the sky started to turn pitch black. A shining bright light rapidly approaching was the only thing they could make out in the black void.

"What the hell is happening!" Max shouted, lifting an arm to cover her eyes from the blinding light penetrating through the sky.

"What's this?" Alec asked, grabbing her arm. She lowered it to reveal small little etchings appearing out of nowhere on her skin.

Lydecker crossed over to her and inspected the marks, and then looked at the now completely dark sky.

"It's starting," he said in awe.

* * *

White let a satisfied smile as he watched the sky darken, and stood there, humming a frightening little tune.

"Now for the cleansing of the earth," he whispered.

* * *

A/N: Okay, have I freaked you out yet? Please review and tell me your thoughts. Is the 'Oh my God, you're alive?' thing getting old yet? Things are getting pretty bad, but expect a few more surprises and funny moments. (Think Ben and Logan, in a room together.) Please give me some feedback. And if you check out my forum, that would be great. :)

Next chapter, I promise to bring the others in the unit in too.


	23. Explanations

A/N: School's starting up next week, so I'm afraid I won't be able to update as often, but I'll try my hardest. Anyways, and ideas for this fic would be great and if you could please give me some feedback, that would be even better.

* * *

"Okay, correct me if I'm wrong," Mina said as they entered Max's apartment, "but that is not normal." She jabbed her finger towards to window to emphasize her point. "What the hell is going on? And don't give any short run-around answers if you value your life."

"There's no need for threats, 839," Lydecker said, though he too seemed shaken up by the change in the atmosphere.

"On the contrary. I think there's a great need for threats. Do you not see what just happened? It's right out of the fricking movies! So you better sit your ass down and tell us everything, beginning to end," she said.

"Panicking is exactly what you should not be doing," he replied. "That will get us nowhere."

"Oh please," Mina scoffed. "Like the fact that the sky just turned pitch black in the middle of the day doesn't freak you out."

"Mina, be quiet for a sec, will you?" Max said in an oddly calm voice. Both Mina and Alec looked at her strangely.

"You okay?" Alec asked.

"You came to tell us something. I'd like to hear it," she said, in the same neutral voice. Alec looked at her face, trying to search for clues as to why she was acting so strangely but it remained impassive, and the thoughts going on behind her eyes were carefully concealed.

Lydecker also seemed disturbed by the change in her character but obliged. He motioned for them to sit on the couches and breathed deeply, indicating that it was going to take a while.

"Wonderful. Story time with dear old dad," Eva muttered. A few of them snickered but Max paid no attention, making it clear that she was ready to hear what he had to say.

"You've all heard about the comet, the supposed star of Bethlehem, I presume?" he asked.

They all nodded, and Original Cindy – who had stayed quiet in the kitchen with Joshua and Scorch – spoke up.

"I heard about it on the news. Apparently it's coming dangerously close to Earth, or something like that. That bullshit they were going on about isn't true, is it?"

"They're not exactly right, but it's close enough to the real truth," Lydecker said, not even raising his eyebrows at her choice of words. It was apparent that the time he spent with the X5s was filled with swear words and therefore no longer annoyed him.

"Every 2000 years, the comet gets extremely close to earth, close enough to drop off a deadly toxin created solely on that comet. The purpose for the toxin is to wipe out the entire human race. No ordinary will be able to survive it. Now, for centuries, there has been a group preparing themselves for it. They call themselves the Familiars. There is an initiation to see who's strong enough to survive, and if you pass, you're part of their group. They have strong beliefs that the comet will cleanse the earth of all the 'trash', namely the ordinaries. They want to dominate the world, remake it."

"Wonderful," Mina remarked. "We've got psychos on the loose. Hasn't anyone ever told them that taking over the world was never a great career choice? It doesn't pay very well."

"But one day, when one of the members realized what was going to happen, he walked out. In order to counteract what is destined to happen, he created Manticore," Lydecker continued.

"Wait a minute," Max interrupted. "Sandeman was part of this cult? No wonder why he made us. Anyone worshipping some comet that is going to wipe out the world is definitely a weirdo."

"Father knew what he was doing. Father's a good guy," Joshua insisted.

"Yes, he is," Lydecker agreed. "He created all of you, hoping that you would fight the Familiars and eventually overcome them. He studied the blood-work of his son, Ames, and figured out what made him immune. So when he created you, he made sure that you were all immune as well, for the most part."

"For the most part?" Alec asked incredulously. "What does that mean? That we can still die?"

"The majority of you will all probably fall ill for a week or two, but only a very small percentage will die. It's the same with the Familiars. None of them are entirely immune to the toxin either. There is only one who won't get sick, and she's sitting right here with us." He looked directly at Max and she jumped up from the couch.

"What?" she said. "There's no way that's me. No way."

"You were his special one Max. For some reason, when he created you he made a mistake, but it worked out well. You have no junk DNA, and your blood is a cure for the virus. You've got antibodies that are stronger than the other transgenics, that can kill the toxin. You're the only hope for humanity."

She stared at him blankly, her mouth open slightly in shock and disbelief.

"Wait a sec," Alec said. "If this toxin is dropped off every 2000 years, than what happened in the past?"

"What do you think killed off the dinosaurs?" Lydecker asked wryly.

Max got up silently and headed for her room before anyone could stop her, trying to get away from them. She closed the door and leaned against it, sighing heavily. Then she moved over to the window and gazed out at the dark sky, watching droplets of rain trickle down the glass.

_Great. It's raining _again. _Can't mother nature ever give me a break?_

"Max?" she heard Alec call through the door. "Can I come in?"

She chose to ignore him, not making any move to get up.

_How can this be happening? I though after Manticore was burned down everything was finally going to be okay. I thought maybe I could stop looking over my shoulder and relax for the first time in twelve years. What did I ever do to deserve this?_

She heard the door open and close and spun around angrily.

"Get out," she said. She watched as Alec looked around her room and his eyes twinkled mischievously.

"That bed looks a little big for you, doesn't it Maxie? You know, if you ever need someone to occupy the rest of the space…" He broke off, seeing that she was in no mood to joke.

"I said get out," she said, her tone hard. His face turned serious and he grabbed her arms before she could hit him.

"You're not getting away that easily," he said, matching her tone. "You think you can just tell me to leave and expect me to do it? I'm sick of this shit, Max. I'm here whether you like it or not and you're going to have to learn that. So would you spend less time pushing me away and actually talk to me for once?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. He had never talked like that to her before and somehow she gained a little more respect for him. It wasn't like anyone to stand up to her and even though it pissed her off, she felt gratified. She was always surrounded by people who obeyed her when she told them to go away, but to actually have someone who cared enough about her to not back down gave her a warm feeling.

"I'm here Max," he said, his voice softer than it had been. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Other than the fact that I'm supposed to save the world? That's Logan's job, not mine," she said bitterly.

"I know you're scared – "

"I'm not scared," she snapped, instantly feeling remorse at the look on his face. "I mean…" She shrugged. "I just don't know what to do."

Her fingers traced a droplet's path against the window. "It was hard, when I first broke out in '09. I was completely alone, and it took me some time to adjust to the world outside. I was constantly moving, and I was so scared that Manticore would catch me. I spent such a long time running that it was all I knew to do when things got too hard or too rough." Her mouth formed a sad smile. "I remember when the Pulse hit. I was with my foster sister, hiding under the stairs from her drunk father. He was mad when the television conked out, so he looked for someone to take it out on. He hit her, and when I couldn't take it anymore, I bailed. I just left her there with him."

Now that she had started, talking was getting easier and easier. She had wanted to tell someone for such a long time, and now she had her chance. It came spewing out of her mouth before she could stop it – not that she wanted to. She reveled in the fact that Alec hadn't uttered a word since she had spoken, and she put it in the back of her mind so that she could tease him about it later.

"When I got back to Manticore, I felt different even though I was back in the hell I swore I'd never return to. I made friends with you guys, and that was something I haven't had in a while. Sure, I had my friends here in Seattle, and as much as I love them, they'll never be able to understand me even if they wanted to. They're not like me. So when Manticore burnt down, I thought I'd finally be able to live my while with the people I cared about, and all I could think was that I was finally free. I didn't have to deal with Manticore anymore." She scoffed. "As if. Every time things seem to work out, they get even more screwed up. I mean, haven't we all suffered enough, Alec? Haven't we been through more than anyone else on this stupid planet? Why is it that every time a normal life – or at least as normal as it can get – is in reach someone pulls it away?"

"I don't know the answer to that, Max," he said gently, taking her into his arms. She was shocked to find her eyes and cheeks moist, crying without even knowing it.

"I just want to get away from it," she whispered. "I'm tired of running from my problems but I don't know how to deal with them. I just want to forget. I want to forget everything." She looked at him and he saw what she was asking.

"I don't think now's the right time," he said, the complete opposite of what he really wanted to say. He kissed her lips and rested his forehead against hers, battling the emotions that had risen within him. "You're emotional, Max. What if you regret it?" He attempted a feeble smile. "And I value my crown jewels. I don't think you getting angry will be healthy for them."

"Please," she asked again. He tried steeling himself against her but he made the mistake of looking into her eyes, and what he was going to say next fell away. He found his body disobeying his mind and his hands smoothed up and down her sides. He slipped her shirt off in one quick motion, and she wrapped her arms around him, her eyes completely dilated.

He took in the sight before him and kissed her again, this time longer. He swept his tongue over her bee-stung lips and she granted him entry, pulling him closer for more. His fingers tangled in her hair and she moved to plant kisses along his neck, eliciting a low groan from him. Her hands dropped to his pants, but a startled gasp stopped her in her tracks.

"Oh, jeez!" Mina yelped. She averted her eyes and wrapped her hands around Scorch's. "There _are_ people here under 21, you know. Innocent minds present."

"Mina," Max said exasperatedly, pulling her shirt on. "What are you _doing_?"

"Scorch was sleepy so I thought maybe he could sleep in here. And I was wondering if you were okay." She raised her eyebrows. "Apparently so."

"What? You think I didn't know how to talk to someone? She was in good hands," Alec protested.

"I can see that," she said pointedly, her fingers still covering Scorch's eyes.

Max's cheeks reddened, but she didn't say anything to that comment. Awkward silence filled the air, and naturally, Alec was the one to break it.

"So, kid. Bedtime. Sleep tight. Don't let the evil Familiars bite." He stopped for a moment to think. "Yes, that would be rather nasty. Do you need a bottle or one of those sucker things?"

"I'm thwee," Scorch said, looking at him as if he was the most idiotic person on earth.

"Right," Alec said hastily. "I forgot. So, uh, good night kid."

Max rolled her eyes and looked into her mirror quickly so that there were no tell-tale signs that she had been crying, and then followed him out the door. She watched as Mina climbed into bed beside Scorch and ruffled his hair, and then with another smile she closed the door.

And found herself face to face with Lydecker.

"I'll need to have a look at those runes on your arm," he said. "I can't decipher it because Sandeman never taught me the code, but I need to copy the runes down because they're likely to disappear and be replaced with new ones."

"Wait a second," Max said. "If you were working with Renfro the whole time, why did you help us take out the lab? Wouldn't that have damaged the whole operation? I would've thought that you guys would continue to make new series so that our army or whatever you want to call it would be bigger."

"I was on the outs with the Committee at that time," he said. "I had a death warrant over my head for killing Sandoval. They hadn't known that he was actually a spy for the Familiars, so they forgave me after I told them that. Plus, even though I worked with Renfro, she was a bitch and I didn't like her. I had actually thought she had killed Tinga, so I was all for taking out the DNA lab. I also didn't know anything about the comet at the time. Sandeman only recruited me after the attack on the lab. All I knew was that I had been given orders when I was the head of Manticore to not kill any of you."

"You cost me my brother," she said harshly.

"And I'm sorry for that. He was a fine soldier."

"No, he was a good man," she contradicted.

"That too," he allowed. "I really am sorry Max. But we all knew it was a calculated risk going in there. And I'm sure Zack didn't regret his actions. He always took care of all of you." He chuckled slightly. "That's why I never found any of you. Running away made everything harder for us. You were the special unit, the ones with a designated purpose in the prophecy. When you ran away it almost destroyed everything."

"So, what are we going to do now?" she asked, shifting her feet. She hated asking him for orders because she hated being told what to do, but she knew that he was the expert in this case.

"We don't have much time," Lydecker said. "The whole process is starting. It's started raining and it's cold out to get people sick already, so that they'll be more vulnerable to the toxin and die quicker. The comet hasn't yet arrived, but it's close. Once it's within range from the earth, it will deposit the toxin. It'll take only minutes for people to get sick, and since it's contagious, they'll infect other people. The comet is going to arrive in approximately a week and a half, and we need to get all the transgenics together. We can't battle the comet but we can battle the Familiars. Because once they realize that we're going to try to stop them by curing people with your blood, it's going to be hell. My people are trying to figure out a place big enough for all the transgenics where ordinaries won't notice us."

"That's too late," Alec said, listening in to the conversation. "We've already had exposure. Dog-boy and some other anomalies were running around smack in the middle of Seattle."

Lydecker pursed his lips. "Well, we're going to have to do the best we can. But Max – you know you're going to have to bring your siblings back."

"Are you crazy? They hate you and they have good reason to. I doubt they'd come and work with the enemy, and besides, I don't know where they are," she argued.

"Don't you understand?" he said. "I'm not the enemy anymore. The Familiars are. We need to get them to come here."

"He's right, Max," Alec said. "Do you have any idea where any of them are?"

"I already know the locations of X5-471, X5-701 and X5-734," Lydecker said. "I've known for a while but I was on orders not to bring them in yet."

"Brin's alive?" Max asked sharply.

Lydecker nodded. "She managed to undo her cuffs before the lab blew. She's currently at one of our other bases. But I have no idea where the others are."

"Zack mentioned to me that Zane was living in Los Angeles, and Jondy in San Francisco. Jace is in Mexico with her baby. Tinga probably went back to Portland to see her family, but I have her number. Seth's hanging somewhere around Seattle, but I don't know if Ben made it out," she said.

"I can have some Tac Teams roam San Francisco and Los Angeles to find X5-210 and X5-205."

Max shook her head. "They don't know Manticore's gone. They'll fight your soldiers and probably kick their asses. Your friends aren't very competent, you know."

"If you have any other ideas on how to find them, then fine, but if not, then that's what we'll do," he said, waiting for her answer. Seeing as she had no better ideas, she nodded grudgingly.

"Good," he said. "I'll see you later."

"Things are going to be okay," Alec said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"You don't know that," she said.

"Yeah, you're right," Alec said, giving in. "I'm just trying to make you feel better so that you'll jump me again."

She looked at him disbelievingly. "I did not jump you!"

"Who jumped who?" Jack asked, eating some chips. "God knows we can use some entertainment here."

"And the world ending isn't enough action for you?" Eva asked dryly, helping herself to some popcorn.

"I don't remember you ever being so sarcastic," Max remarked. She remembered Eva as a fierce and protective soldier, Zack's female opposite.

"When you hang around Deck long enough, you have to be sarcastic to up the excitement in his life a little notch," Jack explained. "That guy is the most boring person on earth. We were in his office for some down time, and his version of fun is playing chess and strategizing."

"I feel for you guys," Alec said. "At least my life is never as dull because I have Maxie to jump me every five minutes since she loves me oh, so much."

"What are you talking about?" she said incredulously. "I did not jump you!"

"And here I was thinking you got over your denial issues," he said, shaking his head in sadness. "Tsk, tsk. I guess I was mistaken."

"Alec!" she yelled as he raced away from her.

"Oh, get a room," Eva said, rolling her eyes.

"They can't," Jack pointed out. "That one's occupied."

He was answered by a bunch of kernels hitting him in the face.

* * *

Seth took another long swig from his beer, glancing out into the dark streets from where he was sitting in a trashy bar. The beer was decent though, so he didn't mind. It helped him think, and the Blue Lady knew he had a lot to think about.

_I can't believe my baby sister went out with that scumbag. But he probably tricked her the same way he tricked me. By being all nice and friendly, inviting her over for dinners and special occasions. The bastard. I was sent back to hell because of him. All for some stupid disks that made absolutely no sense._

He thought back to the day he was captured, remembering every detail of his last day as a free man. He remembered how when Logan came to collect his disks, he had been wearing a mask so that the people from Manticore couldn't see his face. But he had known who he was the minute Logan had spoken.

He remembered that when Logan had taken the disks, he had immediately entered them into his laptop to check that they were the right ones and that he wasn't being played. He tried to recall what was on the disks.

_Oh yeah. These weird little caricatures. It looked like writing in some ancient language. There were a bunch of little black symbols and their meanings right underneath. I always did wonder why they were so important that he turned me in. _

He cleared his thoughts, not wanting to dwell on what had happened in the past. He didn't like Logan, and Logan didn't like him. As long as they didn't ever see each other, he'd be just fine.

_I wonder if the rest of my unit made it out, _he wondered. They weren't as close to him as his family was, but he did care about them and he hoped they were all right. He reached into the back pocket of his pants, an old photo that he had taken with Krit and Zane before the escape in '09. It was on a mission in Venezuela, and they had bought a camera. Seth had snuck the picture back to Manticore and made sure no one ever found out about it.

They were like the three musketeers, except Zack was always yelling at them for one thing or another because they liked to pull pranks. He felt lighthearted thinking of those days when he had felt like a normal kid, playing tricks and annoying his older brother.

_Wish you were here, bro. I hope that Ben was right and that there is a good place, because Blue Lady knows you've deserved some piece._

He remembered the time he, Zane and Krit had slipped laxatives into the trainer's coffee. Live Ordnance that day had been a big break for them because the trainer had to keep rushing to the bathroom. He also remembered the time him and Ben had slipped a dead mouse in the mean cook's food, and she had been too shaken to notice that they were slipping extra helpings onto their plates.

He put the picture away and looked up when he heard screams coming from the street.

"Mutants! There are mutants on the loose!" someone screamed. Seth hurriedly paid for his beer and rushed out of there, trying to find out who was in trouble.

He spotted a panther in the middle of the street looking crazed, standing beside an X6 at loss for what to do.

"Great."

* * *

"They're ready," Otto said. White nodded and Otto motioned two people in.

"State your designation," White said.

"X5-273!" Thomas shouted.

"X5-274!" Samantha hollered, following suit.

Their eyes were completely blank, and they acted like the obedient soldiers they should be.

_No more free will. Good, _White thought.

"Do you have 452's last known location?" White asked Otto.

"Yes Sir," Otto said.

"Perfect," he said. "Give them their weapons."

Otto waved his arm for them to follow and they marched off.

"Time for me to meet and kill the famous 452," he said to himself. The darkness spreading out through the sky made him smile.

"Soon. Soon the world will be reborn and the strong will inherit it. All I have to do is get rid of 452." He snickered. "She'll never know what hit her."

* * *

Ben checked the address on his hand and looked at the number in front of him, confirming that it was the right building. Ever since he broke out he had been searching for his little sister, and he remembered her mentioning some rich guy named Logan Cale who lived in Seattle. One look at the phone book and some research later, he had the guy's address, phone number, social security number and complete bio. He figured this guy would know where Max was.

He stepped inside and slipped past the guard in the lobby without him noticing, and then he climbed the stairs to the right floor. He quickly picked the lock on the door and quietly made his way inside, shutting the door as silently as possible. He took in the expensive art and décor, his mind already calculating the amount of money he could make if he fenced some of this man's stuff. Finally, he crept into the living room where he saw a man – presumably Logan Cale – sitting at his computer desk.

"I was wondering if you knew where Max is," he said pleasantly, startling the older man. He spun around and his eyes narrowed as they landed on Ben. His mouth twitched as if he couldn't get some nasty taste out of his mouth.

"I would've thought she'd be with you," Logan said coldly. "You've got some nerve, you know. And now that Max isn't here I can say what I wanted to. She doesn't love you, so why don't you back off my girl? Why did you think you could just swoop in on her when she was alone and vulnerable back at Manticore and try to get into her pants?"

_Vulnerable? Is he talking about Maxie or a 2 year old?_

Ben's nose wrinkled in distaste. "You are one sick dude. Why the hell would I want to get into my sister's pants? That's disgusting man."

Logan's entire body froze as he registered his words and Ben watched as his face turned milk white. His eyes widened in fear and he took a step back.

"Alec?" he asked feebly. Ben let out a laugh and shook his head.

"Try again," he said, making his voice low and dangerous just to scare him.

_I'd rather my baby sister be with my clone than with this guy. At least my brother has my good looks and doesn't have a stick up his butt._

"Ben," Logan said. He gulped and looked toward the kitchen, where he undoubtedly wished he could grab a knife. Though he looked back at Ben and knew he could never outrun the transgenic.

"It's hurtful you mistook me for my brother," he said, sitting on one of his couches and stretching leisurely. He draped his arm around the back, looking daunting even while he relaxed. "We're so different."

He motioned towards the couch facing him. "Sit."

Logan sat without a moment's hesitation.

Ben let himself stretch some more and didn't speak to Logan for almost a full minute, letting the man get more nervous with each passing second.

_It'll be more fun if I let him draw his own conclusions as to my mental health._

"So… Logan," Ben said, taking his time to speak. "How are you?"

Nonplussed by the odd manner in which Ben was acting, Logan decided it would be best to do as the transgenic told him.

"All right, I guess," he said. "And you?"

"I'm fine," he answered. "I just got over a rather… painful experience."

_It's true. I was in Psy Ops for a hell of a long time. But they fixed me so I guessed it wasn't so bad. No reason to let him on the fact that I'm okay now, though._

He watched as Logan visibly grew tenser.

_What on earth is Max thinking, hanging around with Alec? Who knows if he's insane too? I've got to get her away from him. But first things first. Get rid of the psycho._

"What's your favourite body part, Logan?" Ben asked out of the blue.

"My – my favourite body part?" he stuttered. "I don't really know."

"I like teeth," Ben said honestly. "They're strong and without them you wouldn't be able to eat anything." He leaned forward, as if inspecting the other man's teeth. "Do you have veneers?"

"Uh – yeah – I mean, no," Logan said, shooting up from the couch and moving across the room nervously.

"So, do you know where my sister might be?" Ben asked, seeing that if he continued the man might have a heart attack.

"I'll give you her address," Logan said, and scribbled hastily on a piece of paper, making sure their hands didn't come into contact when he handed him the slip.

"By the way, I don't appreciated what you said to me when you thought I was Alec," Ben said, fiddling with the paper, having already committed the information to memory.

"I know. I'm… sorry. I didn't mean it," Logan grit out.

"Just out of curiosity," Ben said. "What do you _really_ think of Alec? I know he's a pain in the ass."

_I have to lie to him or else he'll kill me and take all my perfect, fake teeth. How else am I going to score Max back if I don't have them? I'm not that rich anymore. Chicks don't dig old geezers. Hmm. Maybe I should have some plastic surgery done._

"Not at all," Logan said, trying to appear sincere while he was fuming on the inside. "He's very nice. I think he and Max will go well together."

_Not in a million years, if I can help it, that asshole._

"Yeah, me too," Ben said. He walked towards the door, opened it, but as if remembering something turned around abruptly.

"Hey – " He frowned when he noticed Logan was gone.

"Well, that was rude."

* * *

A/N: Love it? Hate it? Your feedback is great motivation, and any ideas you might have is welcome. 


	24. Dangerous Encounters

A/N: I know it's been about a month, and I'm really sorry I haven't been updating. Ducks to avoid flying tomatoes But I've had over ten projects and just haven't found the time. I'm really sorry though. Feedback is appreciated, and feel free to scold me for taking forever. :)

* * *

A redhead flipped her ponytail over her shoulder and continued to mix drinks from behind the counter, aware of the stares the men in the bar gave her. She smiled coyly at them but made no attempt to start a conversation. She handed the drinks to two burly men in front of her, ignored their leers and wiped her hands on a washcloth, waiting for the next person to come up for a drink. She spied a man a few years older than her approach, and smiled at him.

"Busy tonight, huh Jane?" he said.

"Yup, but it's almost Christmas, so I figure these guys are getting their drink on so that they can practice making a fool of themselves in front of party guests," she replied. "Oh well. More money for us."

He grinned.

"No, I think the sudden augmentation of people in here is because I hired you. I think every man in San Francisco has been here in the past week."

She shrugged. "What can I say, Derek? I've always been the center of attention."

"You sure you don't mind taking the night shifts this weekend? Carla's sick, so you're the only person I've got," he said.

"Don't worry," she assured. "I don't really need to sleep much, so it's good."

"All right," he said, nodding at her. He furrowed is brow as he heard a crash in the back room of the bar. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got an idiot to throw out."

She chuckled and washed a few glasses, bopping her head to the loud music that assaulted her ears.

"A beer please," a low voice said.

"Sure," she answered, not looking at him, but a familiar click made her look up in alarm, and she saw the man hastily conceal a gun. Her eyes narrowed in on a pin that seemed out of place on his clothes and she knew at once that it was a microphone. The man caught her looking and grabbed her hands before she could react.

"I'm not here to hurt you," he said as she broke her arms free.

"Like hell you aren't," she growled, slapping his arm away and jumping over the counter, intending to make a break for it. Just as she made it to the door, another man stepped out and attempted to grab her. She shoved him away hard but his voice halted her in her tracks.

"452 sent us," he rasped, trying to regain his breath.

Her hand resting on the knob of the door, she stopped, shaking her head, not believing what she had heard.

"What did you just say?" she asked, disregarding her instincts which told her to run and get away from him. She knew he was Manticore, but the shocking remark made her freeze.

"452," the soldier said, apparently becoming more stable now that he saw she wasn't going to run. "We were ordered to find you."

"And why would you be taking orders from my sister?" she asked.

_Unless she was turned._

She shook her head. Max would never give in to Manticore. But it still didn't explain what they were doing taking orders from them.

"Manticore is gone, 210. The base was blown up. But Colonel Lydecker and 452 ordered us to find you and bring you to Seattle," he said.

Her hand tightened on the knob.

"You're lying. Max would never work with Lydecker. I'm not going anywhere with you," she said. She pushed the door open and bolted, but she found herself surrounded by a dozen soldiers, their tazers pointed at her.

"I knew it. I knew you were lying. Manticore's not gone," she said fiercely. "And you better back off if you know what's good for you."

"We are not lying," another soldier said. "452 said that if you didn't believe us, to meet her at the high place."

Her mouth dropped open. There was no way they could have known about the high place, not unless Max had told them. Little bits and pieces made their way into her mind, reminding her of things she had questioned.

_I know something happened to Zack. He just stopped coming around to check up on me. And I think I heard something about a hospital fire somewhere around Manticore's location. Was that why Zack disappeared? Is Manticore really gone? And what about the high place? Max had to have told them about it. No one knew about it, or what we called it._

Taking a deep breath and hoping that she wouldn't regret it, she nodded. "I'll come. But you need to put away your guns or I'll kill you all."

Staring into their panicked faces, she got into the van. She knew that they knew that they couldn't take her on if they tried, and it gave her some sense of security.

_I hope you're okay, baby sister. Don't worry. I'm coming.

* * *

_

Lydecker flipped his cell phone shut, and Max looked up expectantly.

"210 is on her way. So are X5-471 and X5-701, but unfortunately, we had to subdue them because they would not come willingly. They still believed you to be dead. X5-734 will remain at our other base until we find a space to train you all. I trust you called X5-798 and X5-656?"

Max bit her lip. "Yeah, they're coming, but with the kids."

"We can have some soldiers guard them, to protect them from harm," Lydecker promised.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Deck, but your chumps aren't very good at protecting people," Eva said, rooting through Max's kitchen cabinets.

"What are you looking for?" Original Cindy asked.

"Don't mind her," Jack said. "She's a food junkie. The crap they fed us at Manticore was worse than her cooking, and whatever concoction she shoved down my throat was bordering on toxic, so it says a lot."

Eva shot him a glare and Max laughed.

"It's a thing with us X5s," she explained. "Put us in a room with a bomb that's going to blow up in 3 minutes and we won't sweat it. Put us in a kitchen to make something edible and it's out worst nightmare come true. Too bad Manticore didn't believe home economics was a requirement for being an assassin."

"I don't see how, though," Alec remarked. "I mean, if we poisoned ourselves to death, they'd be wasting millions of dollars of R & D."

"Are you always a smartass?" Max asked, rolling her eyes.

"Is the Pope catholic?" Alec countered, as a way of answering.

"Alright children, before this turns into a sickening flirt fest, can we please come back to the fact that we have to find and train thousands of transgenics in less than two weeks?" Eva asked, now happily munching on a pack of Doritos.

"Not to mention that we don't even have a place to train them," Jack added.

"How about Terminal City?" Original Cindy proposed. All heads turned to look at her and she shrugged.

"That place is abandoned except for the occasional homeless person," she said. "It's big, and even though it's toxic to humans, you supermen are immune to it, right? Besides, I heard that there was some weird stuff going on around there. It could be that there are already some of your buddies hiding out in that dump."

Max hugged her friend.

"You are a genius," she said.

"Since I helped out, you better find me some transgenic honey that might be interested," she replied.

"Will do," she agreed.

"We better round up as many transgenics as we can, then," Lydecker said. "I'm going to contact my people."

"Have fun," Eva said dryly.

He walked out the door and everyone shifted restlessly. Jack, looking from Max to Alec, then to the door where Mina and Scorch were probably sleeping, to Original Cindy and back, nudged Eva.

"Want to go for a walk?" he asked.

"Hell no," she said. "It's raining. I hate water."

He gave her a pointed look, and she sighed before getting up and putting down her beloved Doritos. Original Cindy, taking the hint as well, walked towards the door.

"I think I'm gonna go see my lickety chick on the next floor," she said. "Be back later."

"Fine, fine," Eva muttered. "They might as well get rid of their UST now so that we won't have to deal with it later."

"What are you talking about?" Max said indignantly. Alec merely gave them an amused look.

"Hey! Where are you going?" she shouted, but they were out the door and silence remained.

"Want to pick up where we left off?" he asked, his face lit up impishly. He kissed her, muffling her answer.

"You know, this doesn't mean I like you," she mumbled against his neck. "In fact, I still think you're still an annoying smartass."

"I can live with that," he said, laughing quietly. "You're never going to admit that you think I'm hot, are you?"

"If I do, will you stop bugging me about it?" she asked, her eyes growing darker.

"No," he said. His voice was gruff now, deeper than usual.

"Nice to know you can tell the truth sometimes," she answered.

"Want to know something else that's true?" he murmured.

"What?" Her voice was a whisper now, and her flesh was tinged pink and warm.

"You want to jump me right now," he said in her ear, making her laugh.

"Is that so?"

"Yup," he said.

"You seem pretty sure of yourself," she said. She had a playful look in her eyes that made him nervous.

"Why do I get the feeling you're going to knee me in the balls again like last time?" he whined.

She never got a chance to answer because there was a quiet but audible cough coming from their left. Surprised, they looked to see Ben standing there with his hands covering his eyes.

"You two are more disgusting than teenagers who've just hit puberty," he drawled. "I was wondering how much more torture I would have to endure."

Alec groaned and dropped onto the couch like a sack of potatoes.

"What do people have to do to get some privacy around here?" he grumbled.

"How did you find me?" Max asked, embracing her brother. Alec's head snapped up and his eyes narrowed slightly, but he relaxed a little when Ben didn't make any non-brotherly moves on her.

"Stopped by a friend of yours," Ben answered. "That Cale guy."

Alec looked at him in interest.

"What happened?" he asked. He noticed Ben's smirk and his curiosity deepened.

"Let's just say that he doesn't like you too much," he said. "Then when he found out it was me, he totally freaked. I think he thought that I was going to kill him."

"Too bad you didn't," Alec mumbled. "That'd be one less moron in the world." Max gave him a sharp look but he just shrugged half-assedly.

"Coulda fenced his stuff for a fortune though," Ben remarked.

"Like brother like brother," Mina said, coming out from the room. She looked between Alec and Ben to see who was which.

"Where did Lydecker go?" she asked Alec.

"How can you tell us apart?" Alec asked.

"Well, obviously because a, I'm so much handsomer, and b, I'm not trying to kiss my sister to death," Ben said, ticking the points off of his fingers.

Alec snorted. "We're clones dumbass. We look the same."

"Correction. You're _my_ clone," Ben answered.

"All right, all right, would you two stop?" Max said irritably. "You're acting like an old married couple."

They both wrinkled their noses. "That's sick!" they said simultaneously. They looked at each other and then walked to separate ends of the room. Max rolled her eyes at their antics and rubbed her temple.

"I need an aspirin," she muttered.

"Tell me about it," Mina agreed. "Like one Don Juan isn't enough."

Max looked out the window she was leaning against and spotted some figures huddled together under an awning of a nearby restaurant.

"There are a lot of transgenics roaming the streets," Max said. "I think I'm gonna go out there and direct them to Terminal City."

"We should too," Alec said. "If we split up, we'll be able to cover more ground. Considering the number of us that escaped, I'm willing to bet that the majority are here in Seattle because it's closest to where the base was."

"What about Scorch?" Mina asked.

"He's not a baby, Mina," Max said. "He can look after himself. Don't worry."

"Okay, fine," she said resignedly. Still, she looked at the bedroom door for a long time before throwing on her jacket and leaving.

Outside, a dark figure shifted, and walked off slowly with a slight limp. The rain continued to beat down steadily, erasing any traces of him being there.

* * *

"Hey Zane," a man said from under a vehicle. "Hand me the monkey wrench, will ya?"

"Sure thing," he said, tossing it to the other man. He heard him grunt and a minute later the man rolled out from under it. Zane handed him a clean towel and the man wiped the grease off of his face.

"How's your family?" he asked Zane.

Zane shrugged, carefully keeping his face neutral. "Okay, I guess. Haven't seen them in awhile."

Ever since Zane started working at a mechanic shop in Los Angeles, his boss, Gary, had noticed that he had taken a lot of "family emergency" time off. Every time Zane had thought Manticore was getting close, he'd leave for a week or two, and come back. He was grateful though because Gary never questioned his excuses, just nodded and continued to let him work there as if nothing had happened. Gary would just occasionally ask about his family but never probed deeper, so Zane always had a job when he came back.

_I'm just lucky that he gives me flexible hours, _Zane thought.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Gary said suddenly, "there were some men looking for you earlier. I told them you weren't in yet, and they said they'd come back later."

Zane's guard suddenly went way up, and he looked around the garage, scrutinizing every little thing that moved. He saw a piece of cloth flapping in the wind and zoomed in. He drew in a breath when he spotted five soldiers hiding out, guns ready.

"You alright?" Gary asked concernedly. "You look kind of nervous." He followed Zane's gaze. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," he said absentmindedly. "Look, I'm really sorry, but I – "

"Gotta go," Gary finished. He chewed on his cheek. "It's okay. Come in whenever you can, or call if you're in trouble, okay?"

Zane smiled appreciatively and stood up as if there was nothing wrong. Out of his peripheral vision he noticed the soldiers stand up and move to follow. He walked normally to the door and ran as fast as he could to his motorcycle, which was parked near the entrance. He skidded to a halt when he saw that his bike wasn't there and ran his fingers through his spiky brown hair.

_Son of a bitches. One thing you don't ever screw with is my bike._

"X5-205," a soldier said, coming up behind him. In reflex, he kicked out and knocked the soldier to the ground. He did the same to the other soldiers surrounding him, but frowned when he saw that they did not attempt to tazer him.

"Manticore's gone," one said. "We're under orders to bring you to Seattle."

"Who gave the order?" Zane asked.

"452," the same soldier said.

_Maxie? No, they're lying._

"Nice try," he said, and punched that soldier out too. He whirled and was hit by a tazer in the chest, falling down shaking uncontrollably. He was confused by the slightly apologetic look in the man's face before he blacked out.

* * *

X5-998 walked the dark, raining streets of Seattle, his hands in his pockets and his head down. Ever since the fire broke out he had been walking aimlessly, confused by the sudden images that had materialized in his head. Unexplained pictures, or what seemed like memories.

_And in each and every single one of them, that blonde, X5-839, she's in them._

He remembered them being on a boat, the sun shining on their faces, and he remembered X5-839 laughing at something he had said. She was in a summer dress, and he remembered how he had teased her about it. He remembered other times, when they were on missions, and then more memories, intimate ones. Every time he thought about them he felt himself blush, but it mystified him as to where the pictures came from.

_They just don't fit the timeline. X5-839 hasn't changed much from my memories, so they're probably only a few years old. But I know that I've never met her until last month. So what the hell is going on? What happened to me? I feel like I woke up and missed half of my life._

He kept seeing images of the Manticore fire, except it wasn't happening at Manticore, but somewhere else. He saw explosions over and over in his mind, and he could smell the smoke, feel the lick of the fire on his skin.

The sound of footsteps approaching made him look up and a smile made its way onto his face.

_Speak of the angel.

* * *

_

Seth walked into Terminal City confidently as if he owned the place, and many who recognized his status stood to attention.

_They still don't know that Manticore tried to kill them._

"Sir! What are our orders, Sir?" a young X-8 asked.

"You have none," Seth said. "You are no longer a soldier. Manticore's gone."

The little boy looked at him quizzically, but just saluted and went on his way.

"X5-617?" another voice called. Seth looked to find the owner and grinned.

"916," he said, striding over to the other man. "I'm glad you made it out."

"A lot of the others did too," he said. "Most of them are here already. We split up the night of the fire. 076, 583, 312, 621 and 149 are somewhere around here. I go by Alex now, by the way."

"I'm Seth," he said. He looked around at the bustling transgenics, relieved that most of his unit had made it out.

"So what do we do now?" Alex asked.

"Truthfully?" Seth said. "I have absolutely no idea."

* * *

"We need to find the others as soon as possible," Lila said. "I know Max used to live in Seattle, so why don't we start there?" She twirled a strand of her dark hair, now highlighted with some blue streaks due to Hex's dye fiasco.

"You sure you don't want to go to Paris or someplace like that?" he asked, batting his eyelashes in the girliest way possible.

"Oh, stop it," she said. "Would you really, Hex?"

"Fine," he said. "But you're so grouchy all the time, it's driving me nuts."

"I have a lot on my mind!" she cried. "We don't know who's alive or not! How am I supposed to be happy about that? You could at least try to make me feel better than pulling pranks on me all the time!"

"Fine," he said. He grabbed the back of her head and kissed her. Her eyes flew open when he pulled back and she gaped at him like a fish.

He shrugged. "You should close your mouth or else a fly's going to zoom in."

Then he kept walking like nothing had happened.

* * *

"Why the hell should I listen to you?" an X-5 spat. "You're an '09er."

Max fought to keep her temper under control and to not just flat out deck the guy.

_Control. Do not smack him around. It's not his fault he was made so dense he doesn't understand that "the end of the world is coming" is a lot worse than "I have to listen to an '09er"._

"Look," she said slowly, "you'll be a lot safer if you go to Terminal City. There will be people there who will train you, then after we kick some ass, you can go on with your little life. Okee-dokee?"

"You're nuts," he said, shaking his head. "Go to hell." He walked off, leaving Max standing there with her mouth open.

"Been there, done that," she grumbled.

"It sucks that people aren't so responsive these days, huh?" a voice said. She turned but didn't see anyone. Still, she thought she could make out a slightly darker shadow than the rest a little to her right. The voice had a cutting edge to it, and it made her shiver despite herself.

"You must be Amesy," Max said, recalling what Lydecker had told her. His eyes narrowed at the nickname.

"I never knew I was so popular," he said.

"I saw your name on the top ten list for people who needed a personality makeover. Taking over the world is a little bit of a cliché, don't ya think?" she said nonchalantly.

"You think you're so funny, don't you? Well, you won't be laughing when you're dead," he said, pulling out a gun.

"Oh please," she scoffed, rolling her eyes in boredom. "Of all the times I've been killed, you could at least have the decency to make it creative. You're going to shoot me? Where's the originality? If you're going to off me, at least give me something to brag about in my afterlife."

White gave her a bemused look. "You actually want to do this the painful way?"

"Hell yeah," Max said. "I've already died once. At least the second time will be a little more interesting."

_Yeah, way to go Max, give him ideas on how to kill you, _she mocked herself. _Oh well. Just got to keep talking until I can figure out a plan._

"You know 452, you're much prettier than in your picture," he said. He looked her over and Max felt her skin crawl.

"Don't make me throw up," she retorted.

"Well, although I _would_ like to give in to your request, I kind of have to kill you now, however unoriginal it is. You see, the strong are ready to inherit the earth. They have been for years. And I'm not going to let some little girl ruin it for us."

_Little girl? LITTLE GIRL?_

"And I thought I was a freak," she sneered. "What else have you loony people got planned? Séances and spells?"

"If you were smart, you'd shut your mouth," White said. "Say goodnight…"

She kicked the gun out of his hand and landed three quick jabs to his stomach before cartwheeling out of his way. She furrowed her brows in confusion when he stood up straight, completely unaffected by her attack.

_What the hell?_

He dropped into an unfamiliar fighting stance and she slowly did the same, still trying to figure out what had happened. He moved first, stunning her as she felt a hard punch to the face.

_I barely saw him move!_

Wiping the blood from her nose, she regarded him carefully before attacking again. A punch here, a kick there… he met her blow for blow. She found herself barely able to keep up.

"Surprised?" he asked, his breathing not out of check in the least.

"How – ?"

"You freaks aren't the only ones who are different," White said. "But see, you transgenics are filth, and are meant to be destroyed. We Familiars are the strong ones, and the earth is meant to be ours."

"You desperately need to check into a psychiatric facility," she quipped. She saw a strange look flicker over his face, but it was gone so fast she wasn't sure if she had imagined it. His eyes grew colder though, and somehow she knew she had touched a nerve.

So caught up in her thoughts, he swept her feet out from under her and before she knew it, she was lying on the ground with the butt of his gun pointed straight at her. She hated the look of smug satisfaction on his face.

"It's sad, really. I expect the famous 452 to be a better challenge," he said, taking off the safety.

A shot rang through the air and White fell forward, his eyes closed.

"Goodnight," she said.

Max jumped up and saw a lizard-man standing in front of her with a rifle slung casually over his shoulder.

"Did I shoot him? Damn, sorry. I was testing out my new rifle. Works beautifully, if you want to know," he said, mashing on a cigar. He didn't look at all apologetic, but the hilarity of the situation made her want to laugh.

"Name's Mole," he said, not offering a hand. She walked up to him.

"Max," she said. "X5-452." She braced herself for the suspicious look that was bound to be in his eyes, but he just shrugged and continued to chew on his cigar.

"I'm heading to Terminal City," he said. "That's where my kind is hanging out."

"Your kind?" Max asked. He looked at her as if she were dumb.

"Yeah, you know. The people who aren't very likely to win beauty pageants," he said. "Anomalies."

"Oh, right," she said. She heard a noise and looked over her shoulder, but her eyes widened when she saw that the spot where White had previously lain was empty.

"Well, that's certainly something you don't see everyday," Mole remarked. "Was he your boyfriend?"

"He tried to shoot me," she said blankly.

"Well, that just kills a relationship, now doesn't it?"

* * *

A/N: There you go. I'm really sorry if it wasn't the best chapter, but I wanted to get something out there. Feedback would be enormously appreciated. – angelofdarkness78 


	25. Family Time

A/N: Sorry for the long wait again. I'm really trying my best to update, but I have so much work. Feedback would be awesome. As for Evalasting Trouble, to anyone who's reading it (MA as well, the sequel to Ooh Baby) I'm sorry for the delay and I will try to write and post a chapter as soon as possible.

* * *

"So, who did that guy work for?" Mole asked as they walked in the darkness towards Terminal City.

"He's a Familiar," Max said.

"Come again?" Mole said, chomping on his tobacco.

She relayed what she knew about the Familiars and he frowned, his scales wrinkling on his green forehead.

"And I thought we were screwed up," he said.

"Tell me about it," Max agreed. "I think he's working with some government agency for cover, though. You know, the whole suit and tie look."

"Better not piss him off then," Mole commented. "We all know how testy those government people are. I think it's got to do with the long hours. No time to get laid."

Max rolled her eyes and glanced heavenward. "I'm never going to get away from that subject, am I?"

"What subject?" Mole asked.

"Never mind," she muttered. She cast a disgusted look towards his cigar. "Do you have to smoke that stuff?"

"Hey. You need your Tryptophan, Mole needs his smokes. Not as if I'm going to get cancer anyway."

"Forget I said anything," she said, shaking her head with a bemused smile. "To each his own."

"So, this… Coming," Mole said slowly. "It's basically deadly fireworks on Christmas, right?"

"Pretty much," she said.

"Well, that'll be a blast," Mole said, chuckling at his little joke.

"Why is it that there are about zero mature guys in this world?" Max murmured. Unfortunately, Mole still heard it.

"Hey toots, in case you haven't noticed, all the _mature_ guys – as you put it – have something up their asses. Take that Eyes Only bloke, for example. He almost got us fried back at Manticore. And how 'bout the loony Familiar guy? They're no good, I tell you."

Max cringed at the reference to Logan but made no comment, secretly agreeing with the anomaly. She decided to let the subject drop for the moment as they reached the gates of Terminal City. With a furtive look around them, they both jumped the fence in one easy leap.

When she entered, she was surprised by the number of transgenics that were scurrying around inside. She vaguely recognized some transgenics she had had classes with back at Manticore, and as she turned a corner she caught sight of Seth. As if sensing her presence he looked up and smiled, making his way over. She hugged her brother tightly before letting him go.

"So this is where you disappeared to," she said, looking around. "I didn't know so many people were already here."

"None of the ordinaries come close to here, so it's the best place to be if you're hiding out," he said.

"I found Ben," she said. "He's okay."

"That's good," Seth answered.

"Max," a raspy voice said. She turned and Lydecker cleared his throat. "We've got Jondy, Zane, Syl and Krit here."

Her heart started to beat faster at the thought of finally seeing her siblings again, two of them for the first time in twelve years. Her eyes shined and she tugged on Lydecker's sleeve urgently.

"Where are they?" she demanded. He weaved through the crowd and she and Seth followed, leaving Mole behind to nurse his cigars. Lydecker stepped inside a poorly lit room that had the barest furnishings, all almost destroyed in the worst colour imaginable. But it was the occupants that held Max's interest and she barely glanced at the bad state of the place.

A redhead sitting cross-legged on the bed looked up and their eyes met, instantly recognizing each other. She bounced to her feet and was across the room in a matter of second, embracing her little sister and best friend.

"I missed you so much, Maxie," she whispered in Max's ear.

"Right back atcha Dee," she said. They both wiped a few tears from their faces in embarrassment and back away from each other slightly, taking up a cool, nonchalant stance. It was then that Max saw the three figures lying unconscious on the floor. She saw her brother Krit and Syl lying next to him, and another man – a brunette – who was drooling a few feet away.

She and Jondy looked at each other and broke out laughing at their brother, who was unmistakably having a rather nice dream.

"Zane hasn't changed much, has he?" Jondy remarked, a strange fondness in her voice that Max took note of.

"Nope," she replied. "Not at all. He's still a big oaf."

Zane snorted in his sleep and twitched, and then he stirred lightly. He eyes opened slowly and he rubbed his stomach.

"Damn, I'm hungry," he mumbled, licking his lips. Max and Jondy had another round at laughter and at the unfamiliar noise, Zane's eyes opened completely and he jumped up, fully alert. Max saw the surprise in his face when he saw them.

"Dee? Maxie?" he asked, as though needing confirmation he wasn't seeing things.

"In the flesh, big brother," Max said. He grinned wolfishly and whirled her around, putting her down and doing the same with Jondy who shrieked wildly.

"Put me down," she ordered, though without much conviction in her voice.

At all the noise, Krit and Syl began to wake as well. Syl shook her head to clear her mind and stood up, but Krit just rolled over and went back to sleep. Max grinned at her brother, and the hugging was repeated with Syl.

"My God Max, we thought you were dead," Syl said.

"Are you kidding?" Jondy scoffed. "As if anyone could make Max do something she didn't want to do."

Another clearing of the throat interrupted them and Lydecker stood there, with a faint proud look on his face that unnerved the four of them. But as soon as Max blinked it was gone, as fleeting as light.

"They need to know why they're here and what the situation is," he said gravely. "You do understand that time is running out."

"What's he babbling about?" Zane asked, turning to Max. "And why is he even here in the first place?"

"He's here… to help," Max said finally. At the disbelieving looks on each transgenic's face, she prepped herself for another long explanation.

And as she talked, Krit slept on.

* * *

Mina walked down the strangely quiet streets of Seattle, frowning when every so often she heard footsteps behind her and muffled breathing. Though when she inspected the shadows around her, she saw nothing, not even an alley cat in sight. She stopped for a moment, but froze again when she heard footsteps trying to match hers.

"Who's there?" she called. When she was met with no response, she called out again, but louder. "Who's there?"

The hairs on her neck stood on end and she felt something grab her arm. In reflex she slapped it away, but a hand grabbed her other arm, gently this time. She looked up into the face that had haunted her for a long time.

"404," she said. "I – I mean, 998," she corrected hastily.

"It's Jay now," he answered. He smiled weakly. "I thought it would help with the designation confusion. Identity crises are so irritating."

"No kidding," she said. "How'd you find me?"

"I didn't. I guess I was led to you for some reason," Jay said.

"You believe in that stuff?" Mina asked.

"Sure, why the hell not? After all, weirder things have happened, right?"

She gave him a dubious look but made no further comment. She just continued to walk at a slower pace, Jay matching her stride.

"I have some questions for you," he said, after a minute of silence.

"Like what?" she asked guardedly. She shot him a sidelong glance before looking away.

"About some things I've been remembering," he answered.

"How would I know the answers to that?" she posed.

"Well, I figure since your face keeps popping up in my head, you could fill in the very big blanks. Besides, I can't stop thinking about you."

"Isn't that every girl's dream," she said under her breath. "Okay, shoot."

"How do I know you?" Jay asked.

"You don't," Mina replied easily. _At least not anymore. Not really._

He didn't bother to hide his frustration. "I'd appreciate it if you gave me straight answers."

"I'm doing the best I can," she said.

"Fine, I'll rephrase the question," Jay said. "How do you know me?"

She paused and took a breath before answering. "I wasn't always in Unit 8. And you weren't always a Psy Ops soldier."

"What were we then?" he asked.

"That's the complicated part," Mina said. "They did something to me too, to make me forget. It was only around the time that I met Max that I started remembering stuff, and even more when I saw you again."

"I'm still not following," he said.

Mina closed her eyes, trying to sort out her thoughts. She let the memories of her past, the ones she had so closely guarded from everyone, come back to her, remind her of what had happened.

_A small girl ran through the woods, branches hanging low from trees scraping her skin, cutting her. She could barely feel the stinging cold from the snow, and she heard snowmobiles roaring around her. Somewhere in the distance she heard a gun go off, and she felt her heart sink when she realized that one of her brothers or sisters were dead. Still, she ran harder and faster, her thighs burning in exhaustion. She tripped over a hidden log, but jumped up quickly and continued running without hesitation._

_She gasped when someone pushed her to the ground and she struggled to get up, but stopped when she saw who it was._

"_Kavi?" she asked. Seconds later shots whizzed over their heads._

"_Be more careful, Vada," he chastised, pulling her up hurriedly. They continued to run but Kavi cried out when a tazer hit him. He fell to the ground seizing and the same was repeated with Vada, who looked over to see that Kavi was unconscious. She felt something being put over her mouth so that she couldn't scream and then she and Kavi were dragged off, brought back to the prison they had tried to escape._

"839?" he asked. "Or – what's your name now?"

"Mina," she said, her eyes holding the faraway look.

"You didn't answer my question," he said. "What unit were we in?"

She rolled up her sleeve as she had done many times before and looked at the tiny scar on her wrist.

_We're a family._

"Mina?" Jay asked again.

"Do the names Kavi and Vada seem familiar to you?" she asked him. He looked at her like she was crazy.

"What?"

"Do they?"

He thought for a moment. "A little, I guess. Maybe, like they were people I know."

Mina nodded absently and rolled up his right sleeve as well, glimpsing a tiny scar on his wrist identical to hers.

"How could I have forgotten?" she muttered.

"What are you talking about?"

"I think we were in Unit 2," Mina said.

He let out a short laugh with no trace of humour in it. "That's crazy. The '09ers were in Unit 2."

"Exactly."

When it didn't seem like he was getting it, she drew another long breath.

"I think we were recaptured and simplified. I think we tried to escape in '09."

* * *

"Where are you going?"

"Would you stop that? It's freaky. I'm being stalked by myself."

"I don't know if _myself _is the right term because technically, since I was born first of course – "

"Oh, would you shut up about that? Jeez, obsessive much. You're all of what – a minute older?"

"Touchy, bro," Ben said. "I was just making conversation. You know, like 'how's the weather'?"

"Crappy," Alec answered.

"'Course it is," Ben said. "How weird would it be if it was a perfectly sunny day before the end of the world?"

"Dude, it's Seattle," Alec replied. "It's always raining, no matter what occasion. So don't get your hopes up for scoring a tan before you go kaboom."

"We're not going to get blown up, just sick," Ben said. "The ordinaries, on the other hand, are going to die pretty quickly if we don't do something about it."

The concern in his voice confused Alec, so he stopped walking for a second.

"Why do you care about what happens to them?" he asked.

Ben looked straight at him and answered without flinching. "Because I killed a lot of people before. And I want to make up for the horrific things I did. Help save some families I destroyed."

There was a silence that made Alec uncomfortable and for an instant he felt sympathy for the man who shared his face.

"We're not going to have some touchy feely moment now are we? Because that would be strange," Ben said, breaking the silence.

Alec scratched the side of his head. "Now, I think I know why Max can't stand me sometimes. Man, you're irritating."

Ben punched him on the shoulder. "Hey, you're my clone. Which means you're annoying too."

"No, I'm perfect."

"Face it. You bug people."

"You bug people."

"You're me."

"No, I'm not. I'm me."

"Which is me."

"Man, you're irritating."

"Right back atcha."

Alec groaned. "I can't believe I'm arguing with myself." He held up a hand before Ben could speak. "Oh, I'm sorry. _Yourself_."

"Dude, you got problems," Ben said.

"Wouldn't they be your problems?" Alec retorted. Ben grinned.

"Touché."

"Wanna go bug Logan?" Alec suggested.

"Why?"

"Do we need a reason why?" Alec asked.

"Good point."

* * *

"Vroom, vroom," Case said, playing with his toy motorcycle on the bus to Seattle. "Look mommy. It looks just like your motorcycle. Can I get one too when I'm older?"

At Charlie's uneasy look, Tinga grinned and shrugged noncommittally.

"We'll see, baby," she said in her way of answering.

"We'll see?" Charlie asked, his eyebrow raised.

"Well, you won't have to worry about him as much since he has my transgenic agility. I'm not saying he should have one, but one of my brothers will probably give him one," she replied.

Charlie gulped. "Right."

Not seeing his look, she added, "We should be thankful they haven't given him a gun yet."

Charlie's eyes grew wide and she laughed. "Don't worry. I won't let them do that. They know I'll beat their as – bums if they do. Max is really excited to see Case again."

"Entering Seattle," the bus driver called.

"Alright Case, pack up your toys," Tinga said. Case obediently listened to his mother and Charlie picked up one suitcase while Tinga took the other. Grabbing Case's hand, she stepped off the bus.

"Max said she'd send another transgenic to pick us up if she couldn't make it," Tinga said.

"How are we supposed to know who it is?" Charlie asked. He glanced at the dark sky, which had momentarily stopped raining. "That's not natural, is it?"

"I think Max said it was some of the effects of the Coming," Tinga answered. "She didn't give me the full details. As for the transgenic, I can usually tell by the way they move."

She scanned the crowd. "There," Tinga said, moving forward, but she stopped so suddenly that Charlie stumbled into her.

"It can't be," she said. She smiled and continued walking.

"Jace?" she asked. The woman turned around.

"Tinga? God, it's great to see you. Did Max call you too?"

"Yeah, and – " She broke of when she saw a small figure emerge from behind Jace.

"It's okay sweetie. This is your auntie Tinga," Jace said, pushing the girl forward lightly. "Tinga, this is Little Max. Say hi, Max."

"Hi," she said.

"I never knew you had a daughter," Tinga said.

"She's less than a year old, but I'll explain the details later," Jace said.

"Hi Max," Tinga said. "This is your cousin Case."

"Hi Max," Case repeated.

"This is my husband Charlie," Tinga said. Jace nodded at Charlie and he smiled back.

"I'm guessing you girls are the people I'm supposed to pick up?" a man said, approaching them. After watching the crowd carefully, he flashed his barcode. "Name's Chaz."

"How did you know who we were?" Jace asked suspiciously. Chaz tapped his head.

"Psy Ops," he explained. He waved his arm at a beat up car. "Your chariot awaits."

"Is that thing safe?" Jace inquired.

"Yeah. I put it together myself from some scraps I found," he said proudly.

"Mommy, why is that car so ugly?" Case asked. Tinga's hand flew over her son's mouth, but the offended transgenic just huffed and got inside. Charlie proceeded to put the suitcases in the trunk.

"It looks like a dump truck," Case whispered in his cousin's ear. She giggled hysterically.

"Ugwy," she said.

"Auntie Max is real nice," he said confidentially. "You'll like her."

"Max. My name Max too."

"Yeah, but she's got an ugly boyfriend. Some guy with glasses."

"Ugwy," she repeated.

"He's got some cool computer toys to play with, though. It'll be fun."

"Hehe," Little Max said.

* * *

Scorch rubbed his eyes as he woke up and sat up slowly.

"Mina?"

Hearing no answer, he got up and went into the living room.

"Mina?"

"She's not here little boo," Original Cindy said. "Don't worry. We can hang out."

"Where's Mina?" he asked.

"She's out with Max," Cindy answered. "Want to play a game?"

"Chess!" he cried out happily.

"That's all those soldier people let you play, huh? Well, okay. But you go easy on me. Original Cindy is not good at chess."

She set up the board and let him go first, figuring she would let him get a head start. She had lied before; she was actually quite good at chess but she didn't want to make him feel bad. He might be a genius, but she didn't think a three year old would understand the game very well.

She was wrong.

Five minutes later, he had beaten her, and he sat on his chair with a smug grin on his face.

"Again?"

_This is going to be a long night.

* * *

_

"Shut up, you're making too much noise."

"I'm not making any noise, you idiot."

"Yes, you are."

"No, Ben, I'm not," Alec whispered back harshly.

They were hiding in Logan's penthouse while he was currently whipping up one of his so-called culinary miracles and humming an old pre-pulse song way off-key.

"If I have to deal with any more of this singing I'm going to die," Ben muttered.

"Ditto. Lydecker's gotta sing better than this."

"Ooh. Bad mental picture," Ben said.

"Try Renfro reproducing."

"That's torture. Why do you have to destroy my mind like that?"

"Because I'm mean."

"Shut up," Ben hissed. "You're making too much noise shuffling."

"I'm not shuffling."

"Yes, you are shuffling."

"I think I would know if I was shuffling," Alec said irritably.

"Well then, what's that noise?"

"Your imagination?" Alec offered.

"Shh."

They were quiet and could hear a distinct sound that neither of them were making. Finally, a few feet behind Logan, they spotted a figure making its way across the room, their feet dragging and making noise but not enough for an ordinary to hear it. As the figure moved forward, something in its hand caught the light and gleamed.

A knife.

"Oh great," Ben moaned.

"I know. Now someone else can off the guy and Max can't be mad at us because we didn't do it," Alec said excitedly.

"You're such a moron," Ben said.

"Wouldn't that make you one too? After all, I'm your clone," he said sweetly.

"You know we're going to have to save him," Ben said.

"Why?" Alec whined. "Can't we just pretend we were never here and grab a pizza and beer?"

Ben shot him a look. "Max'll kill us if she ever found out we were here."

Alec sighed. "This sucks, you know."

"You're so whipped."

"Bite me."

"I wouldn't want to."

They stood up and moved closer to the figure.

"I'd rather imagine Renfro reproducing than save him," Alec said under his breath so that only Ben could hear.

Ben shuddered. "Don't even go there."

"Shut up."

"You shut up."

"You shut up!"

"Why don't you – !"

Their voices had raised to screaming level and the figure turned as well as Logan. They couldn't see the face because of the mask it was wearing.

"Great. This is all your fault," Ben said.

"You sound exactly like Max."

"Note to selves: when there is a crazy killer with a knife in the room, use indoor voices," the figure said in a glacial monotonous voice.

The next words out of Ben's and Alec's mouths were the same.

"Oh shit."

* * *

A/N: I like this chapter a lot. I hope you do too. Well, I'm off to do more chapters for my other stories, but I'd really love it if you'd kindly review and lend me your thoughts. It would only take a second and your feedback is always appreciated.

Luv y'all, angelofdarkness78.


	26. Reunion

A/N: Hi everyone! Here's another chapter but first I want to address something.

Many of you have commented about how the story is starting to lose its depth, and isn't as interesting anymore. I totally understand where you're coming from. I know some parts have been "out there" and that I'm constantly twisting the story and making it more confusing. I'm very sorry that some of you aren't enjoying it as much, but I want you all to know that I do have some sort of direction for this fic and I know what I want to do with it. So yes, it's confusing, but it will sort itself out with time. However, I do appreciate you telling me this and coming and telling me what you really think. I'd rather have reviews telling me that there are certain parts that you don't like than people pretending to read the story and telling me it's great. So thank you for coming out and telling me.

Even though I understand if you aren't particularly interested in reading this fic anymore, I would love it if you would still give it a shot and read on for at least a few more chapters before dropping this story. I'm just a kid, and the reason why I ask you to review is so that you can tell me what's wrong and how I should fix it. I don't, however, appreciate it when some people bash my story without giving me any reason why they don't like it. If you're going to tell me you don't like something, please tell me why and how you think it should be. I'm all ears.

Lastly, thank you very much to all who still support this fic. I'm glad that some of you are still enjoying it, and I'm glad that at least I'm giving some people a nice pastime. So, after that long spiel, on with the next chapter. :) aod78

* * *

"Note to selves: when there is a crazy killer with a knife in the room, use indoor voices," the figure said in a glacial monotonous voice.

The next words out of Ben's and Alec's mouths were the same.

"Oh shit."

"Oh my God," Logan breathed. His chest heaved up and down for a second, and then his eyes rolled back and he slumped to the ground.

"Sissy," Ben muttered, eyeing the unconscious man. The figure took a step toward them and both him and Alec took a step back. The figure whipped out the knife so that in was in clear view and moved it back and forth, watching as Ben's and Alec's eyes followed its movement hypnotically.

"Would you like me to cut out your hearts first?" it said, in the same cold tone.

Alec pointed at Logan. "Hey, he's older and lived a longer life. How 'bout you get rid of him first? I'm still waiting to grow a beard."

The figure moved closer, dangling the knife, and Alec took this opportunity to kick out at the person, causing him to stumble back. As the figure crashed into a china vase, its sweatshirt bunched up and Alec caught sight of a Led Zeppelin logo peeking through.

_A psycho killer who keeps track of rock bands?_

"Jesus, man. That hurt."

"What the hell?" Ben said, his forehead crinkling. The person was laughing hysterically, and he pulled back his hood to reveal his face.

"Biggs?" Alec asked incredulously. "What the fuck was that just now?"

Biggs stood up, tears of laughter still streaming down his face. He bent over and rested one hand on his knee, the other one clutching his stomach while he gasped for breath.

"You shoulda… shoulda seen your… faces," he choked out. "You guys looked like you were about to wet yourselves."

"As if," Ben said indignantly, his cheeks flaming red in embarrassment.

Alec walked over to his friend and punched him in the stomach hard, causing him to gasp, this time in pain.

"You'd be freaked if your best friend was acting psychotic. What the hell is wrong with you?" Alec shouted.

"I remembered Max mentioning that Cale guy when I was eavesdropping on her and some of the other chicks in our unit. Interesting stuff they were talking about, by the way," Biggs explained. "I tracked him down easy. I figured he'd know where Max was, and that you'd be with her."

"What were they talking about?" Alec asked, momentarily sidetracked. Biggs exhaled in relief at his success in stopping his friend from sucker-punching him for the moment.

"You, of course," he said mockingly. He batted his eyes in a girlish way. "Oh Alec, we love you. You're a God."

"Can't argue with that," Alec said, oblivious to his sarcasm. Ben rolled his eyes.

_And I thought I had a big ego. The biggest downside to having a clone is that I'm not going to be the only hottest guy anymore. Way to steal my thunder, bro._

"What's with the knife then?" Ben asked.

"Figured if the ordinary wasn't gonna give me any answers, I'd scare him with it," Biggs said, shrugging. "I wasn't going to actually hurt him. That would be stressful and stress causes wrinkles."

"Careful, buddy. You're starting to sound like a woman," Alec warned.

"Would you idiots – " Ben shot Alec a glare to let him know not to start up the whole 'if I'm an idiot, then you are too' argument, "shut up for a moment. We actually have stuff to do. The Coming's getting closer, and those Familiar bitches are probably getting their whole wacky cult rituals ready for world domination and stuff, so we gotta train people to fight them quick."

Biggs looked at him quizzically. "Was that English? Or any other known language, for that matter?"

"We'll fill you in later," Alec said. He looked over to see that Logan was still sprawled across the floor.

"What are we going to do about him?" Ben asked.

Alec's eyes lit up mischievously and he promptly walked into the bathroom without another word. Finding what he wanted, he came back out and got to work.

"What's that?" Biggs asked curiously.

"Make-up," Alec responded, swiping lipstick onto Logan's mouth. He snuck a quick look at the bag. "I figured a rich guy like this probably has lady friends stay over sometimes." He read the label on the small bag. "Asha's stuff."

"So… what? You want to stay and play Barbie? I think you're a little too in touch with your feminine side, my friend," Biggs said.

"No, dumbass," Alec said, finishing up and rooting around Logan's computer area. After opening a few cabinets, he pulled out a camera.

"Say cheese," he said, and snapped a quick photo. He grinned at the other two and retrieved the photo. "Beautiful. Here's something to make us laugh when we get bummed about the whole 'Coming' dealio."

He shoved the picture into his back pocket and noticed Ben's raised eyebrows.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"I just realized how immature we are," he said thoughtfully. Alec crinkled his nose.

"We are," he repeated. "That sounds weird."

"You're telling me," Ben agreed.

"Well, I hate to ruin the lovely brotherly moment, but I'm still kinda confused about the whole Familiar thing," Biggs interrupted.

"Let's go find Max first," Alec said, walking out.

"Let's go find Max first," Ben mimicked. "It's embarrassing how someone who shares the same face as me can't do anything without the permission of my little sister."

"It's love, dude," Biggs said. "Don't try to understand it. It's like women; very confusing."

"Talking from personal experience?" Ben asked slyly.

"Don't even go there," he muttered.

"Mina's with us," Ben dropped lightly. He smirked at the relieved look in Biggs' eyes.

"I'm surrounded by lovesick puppies," Ben murmured under his breath, walking out. "How nauseating."

"I resent that," Biggs said, following.

* * *

"Had enough beauty sleep, bro?" Max asked as Krit rubbed his eyes and stood up.

"Hey Max," he said, still half asleep. As he realized who he was talking to, he froze and his eyes grew wide. "MAX?"

"Yeah, she's alive," Syl said. "Get with the program Krit."

He hugged his little sister, Jondy, and then gave Zane a slap on the back.

"Hey bro, you're not as scrawny as you used to be," Zane remarked, a playful smile on his face. "I guess puberty does wonders."

"Oh, shut up," Krit said irritably.

"Great, they're together again. Krit, Seth and Zane," Jondy said moaning. "This is going to be hell."

"Seth's here?" Krit asked excitedly. His eyes were gleaming and they could practically see the pranks he had in mind flit through his mind. "Are you serious?"

"Practically our whole family's here," Syl said.

"Jace, Brin and Tinga are here," Lydecker said gruffly from the doorway. "I filled them in on the way here."

"Hey big sister," Zane said to Tinga, giving her a quick hug. The rest repeated the gesture, but Jace hung back a little nervously and Brin stood by Lydecker, her posture completely still with no trace of emotion on her face.

"Hey Max," Jace said softly. Max inclined her head slightly, letting her know it was okay. The others watched her and finally it was Jondy who moved forward and hugged the sister who had stayed behind.

"I'm so sorry I didn't leave with you guys," Jace said.

"It's okay," Syl said. "You're here now. We're a family."

At those words, Max looked up and thought she saw Brin's eyes tear over, but a second later, they were crystal clear and Brin's face remained blank. She still stood by Lydecker, making no move to come closer to her siblings. Max studied Brin more closely, and finally spotted a carefully concealed look of longing. As her eyes moved to Lydecker, she knew he had noticed the distance Brin had put between herself and the others, and he even looked a little sad about it.

_He actually cares about us to a certain extent, _Max realized.

Before she could tell Brin to come closer, Brin spoke in low tones to Lydecker so that she couldn't hear, and swiftly left the room. Lydecker offered a slightly sympathetic look and left behind her.

"God. What happened to her?" Jondy whispered.

"She was recaptured a year and a half ago, and she was reindocrinated," Max explained. "She's not the same Brin we used to know."

"So she's dead," Zane stated.

"No," Max interjected, shaking her head vehemently. "Not really. She's alive, so Brin – the real Brin – is probably still there, somewhere. We just need to remind her of that."

"Where glasses?" a small voice said loudly from the hallway.

"I don't know. I don't think he's here," another voice, stronger than the other one, said.

Tinga put a hand over her mouth in shock. They were apparently talking about Logan, so she glanced over at her little sister. Max, however, just seemed amused.

"Good. Don' wan to see ugwy man."

Krit snorted with laughter at her description of Logan. He went to the door and brought in little Max and Case.

"Hi, Auntie Max!" Case shouted, jumping on her. Little Max just went over to Jace.

"Hey Case," Max said, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Whoa, you're getting big."

"Uh huh," Case agreed.

"So, this is my nephew?" Zane asked, taking Case form Max. "I'm your Uncle Zane. And this is your Auntie Syl, your Auntie Jace, your Auntie Jondy, and your dumb Uncle Krit." He indicated each in turn and Krit scowled at him.

Charlie stood back and observed the muscular males a little apprehensively. He hadn't forgotten the last time Tinga's "brother" had dropped in, and the last time, he had tried to choke him.

"Want to go play some tricks on the unsuspecting soldiers?" Zane asked Krit.

"You read my mind," Krit said. "Wanna come?" he asked Case.

"Uh, Pe – Tinga," Charlie interrupted. "Is that a good idea?"

""It'll be fine," Tinga soothed. "Don't worry. My brothers know what I'll do to them if they do anything bad."

"We love you too, mommy," Krit said.

"Me wanna come!" Little Max shrieked. "Peas?"

"Sure," Krit said, picking her up with one arm. They left, Krit muttering something about paintball guns, and Charlie followed them to watch nervously.

"Lydecker's telling all the other transgenics about the training sessions we have planned. None of them really care about what happens to the Ordinaries, but they're all so restless and need some kind of structure that they're up for it," Max said. "Still, we've only got about a hundred or so transgenics. We're gonna need a lot more than that. Some of us are walking the streets, telling the transgenics there where to go, but a lot won't listen."

"Duh," Jondy said. "We're traitors to them."

"Still, I figure if we offer them something in return, something that they want, we might be able to get them on our side. Like I said before, the majority still need the structure and training anyway. If we offer them shelter here, and food, then we might have a shot. The problem is that we only have a week and a half," Max said.

"How on earth are we gonna pull that off?" Syl asked.

"We don't," Jace said. "We do our best and hope it's enough."

"Hope?" Tinga teased. "My, you've changed dear sister."

"She's right," Jondy piped up. "Besides, you guys said that you were being trained harder than ever at Manticore. Everyone's probably in good shape. It shouldn't be hard to get them trained to fight the Familiars."

"It's not as easy," Max said. "I ran into one of them on my way here. Sandeman's son. Real son of a bitch, but he fights just as well if not better than us. If they can all fight that way, then we're screwed."

"Okay, then," Syl said. "We better get these training sessions rolling. But we need to figure out who's going to teach."

"Probably anyone who's not an '09er," Tinga suggested. "Just because we have less training. Excluding Ben, Seth, Jace, Eva and Jack of course."

"And we need to get some order around here," Syl said. "Actually get this place running smoothly. We should have a rec room for relaxing, designated rooms to sleep in, and a mess hall at least."

Max snorted. "Mess hall? None of us can cook. We'd just poison the rest of us."

"I can cook," Tinga said.

"So can I," Jace spoke.

"Figures the only ones who know how to cook are the mommies," Jondy said. "Or did we just miss Culinary 101?"

"We should get moving," Max said. "Tinga, Jace, see if you can find a good spot that'll seat a lot of people. Syl, I want you to watch the news. Tell us anything you hear about the comet, no matter how stupid it sounds. And Jondy, see if you can find some people to be trainers."

"Does Alec count as a person qualified to be a trainer? He used to be a C.O. after all," Tinga said, the corners of her mouth twitching upward at Max's frown. She knew that her little sister did not want to be taught by her boyfriend, however she was sure Alec would enjoy rubbing it in.

"I guess so," Max grumbled.

"Who's Alec?" Jondy asked curiously.

"Max!" Alec called from the doorway.

"That's Alec," Max said, pointing. Jondy's eyes grew wider and she looked him over with appreciation. But at Max's glare, she immediately stopped, understanding the gesture.

_Maxie sure knows how to pick 'em, _she thought.

"Any ideas on how to handle the Familiars?" Alec asked. He took a double take seeing all the unfamiliar people in the room. "Who are you?"

"This is my family," Max said. She introduced each of them and he nodded, shooting a suave smile at all.

"We've already got some plans for training sessions except we've just got to find some people who'll teach," Max said.

"I can," Alec offered.

"I had a feeling you'd say that," Max muttered.

"Oh, come on, it won't be so bad," Alec said, swinging an arm around her shoulder. "I can even give you some _personal_ training."

_This guy's a real flirt with a capital F, _Jondy thought in amusement.

"So, we train them, we fight the evil crazy people, we kick ass, and world saved," Alec said. "Right?"

"Wrong," Max said. "It's not so easy. I had a fight with that White guy a – "

"You what?" Alec said incredulously. "Are you okay?" He looked her over to make sure that she wasn't hurt before he stared at her in slight anger. "What were you thinking? I knew I should have gone with you."

"Relax, Alec. I'm not a baby," Max said, touched by his worry and annoyed at the same time.

"As I was saying," she continued, "they can fight really well. So it won't be easy."

"Well, as long as everyone pretends the Familiars are Renfro, we'll beat them," Alec said. Max rolled her eyes at his immaturity.

"We'll leave you two lovebirds alone," Jondy said. "We've got some stuff to do."

After nudging Syl, the four women left.

"Alone at last," Alec said. "Don't get me wrong; I like your family, but they're always around."

"Mmhmm," she mumbled, getting lost in his embrace. "Alec?"

"Yeah?"

"I… love you," she said. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt his muscles tense and he pulled away from her slightly. She looked at him in confusion, and the panicked look in his eyes made her want to swallow her previous words. Her eyes teared up but she blinked and made them go away.

_I should never have said that. I should never have made myself vulnerable like that. What was I thinking? He doesn't love me. God, I'm so stupid! _

"Max," he said, but he stumbled over what he wanted to say. He hadn't expected her to say that, and he wanted to say them back so badly. He hated the pained look on her face, the one he had caused.

_You did that, _he thought, _You hurt her. Like you hurt everyone._

"Never mind," she said, shaking her head. "It was stupid. I'm sorry."

"That's not – Max, wait!"

She blurred out the door before he could utter another word, and he held his head in his hands.

"Way to go, you jerk," he murmured to himself. He sucked in a quick breath as pain shot through his head.

_Flashback_

"_Play this," he said._

"_We always play that," a beautiful young girl said. "How about this?"_

_She played the theme from "Peanuts" and he smiled at her._

"_It's good, but watch your dynamics," he said. She stood up from the piano bench, and fiddled with his shirt._

"_Simon, in case you haven't noticed, I've kind of been throwing myself at you for the past week. Do you not like me?"_

"_I like you," he said, his voice low. She smiled and he felt a twinge of guilt in his heart for what he was about to do._

_End Flashback_

_Flashback_

"_Rachel, no! You can't get in that car!" Alec shouted._

"_Simon, what are you talking about?"_

"_I'm… I'm not Simon. I'm an assassin who was sent here to kill your father," he said as quickly as he could, trying to convince her to stay. The betrayal in her eyes hurt him more than she'd ever know. She looked out the window, seeing her father get into the car._

"_Daddy!" she screamed, racing down the stairs._

"_Rachel!" he yelled after her. He watched as she went to the car and it exploded._

"_RACHEL!"_

_End Flashback_

He sunk down to the ground, his back leaning against the wall. When he pulled his hands away from his face, water dripped down them, tears from his eyes.

_It's my fault Rachel's dead. I betrayed her. I can't fail Max too._

He wiped the remaining tears from his face with his sleeve and exhaled slowly. He put his right arm on the floor to push himself up, but he stopped halfway. He grabbed his sleeve and rolled it up, to reveal strange little black marks.

"What the hell?"

* * *

Biggs leaned against the wall in TC talking to Ben and watching who entered and left. He wasn't really paying attention but a minute later his senses heightened and he looked towards the entrance, spotting a blonde woman walk through. He spiked his hair with his fingertips and made his way over, but stopped short when he saw that she wasn't alone. He clenched his teeth and dug his nails into his palms when he saw who it was.

XP-998 had his arm wrapped loosely around Mina's waist, and it didn't seem to bother her, which infuriated Biggs. She even seemed to be comfortable with him.

They were talking in low tones so even his enhanced hearing couldn't pick up what they were saying, but they seemed serious and didn't look away from each other's faces.

_Now I know why Alec hates that cyber nerd so much, _Biggs thought.

He strode over purposely and stood in front of Mina, who saw him with a look of surprise which rapidly turned to one of panic and discomfort as she looked between him and 998.

_Did she escape with him? _Biggs wondered jealously. _Did she try to find him even when the facility was on fire?_

"Biggs," Mina said. "You're okay."

"Yeah, I'm glad that you got out, 510," 998 said good-naturedly.

"I'm sure you are," Biggs sneered. "Mina, can I talk to you?"

"Now?" She bit her lip. "Now's not really a good time."

"Sure, go ahead," 998 said, not appearing possessive in the slightest. Biggs was having a harder time being mad at the guy when he was being so nice.

"Thanks," Mina said. "I'll talk to you later about… you know."

"About what?" Biggs asked when they were far enough away.

"None of your business," she snapped. "Why are you being such an asshole? He was nice to you."

"What were you guys talking about?" Biggs insisted.

"Nothing," she growled, but Max walked up to them with slightly red eyes and the subject was forgotten.

"Max?" Mina asked gently. "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine," she said.

"Is it Alec?" Mina asked.

"No," she denied, searching her mind for an excuse that would be plausible. "It's… my sister Brin. She's not the same anymore."

"Sorry hon," Mina said, hugging her friend.

_I can see right through you Max. What stupid think did that idiot say or do now?_

"Max! Mina!" a small voice shouted from across the room.

"Scorch?" Mina said. "What are you doing here?"

"Scorch?" Biggs asked quizzically.

The little boy yanked Max's arm, tugging her forward with all his strength, which was considerable.

"Come quick," Scorch said. "Something's wrong with Cindy. She went out in the rain for a few minutes to buy some snacks, and when she came back she was really sick and then she fainted."

"What?" Max cried out. _This cannot be happening. Not my best friend._

"The Coming's not supposed to be here for another week and a half!" Mina said frantically. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, but I'm not going to let my best friend die," Max said decisively. She picked Scorch up and ran out the door with Mina at her heels, racing to find a car.

"You'd think that if there were stupid prophecies, they could at least have the decency to stick to what they predict," Mina grumbled.

_I'm sorry, O.C. It's all my fault. People always get hurt because of me. But I promise you, I'll fix this. I promise, _Max thought.

* * *

Original Cindy moaned and rolled onto to her back while she lay on the floor, her head throbbing. She instantly regretted the decision when she felt the urge to vomit. She coughed and pushed herself up, feeling extremely weak.

"Here," a frail voice said. An old hand offered her a drink and she took it, trying to clear the hazy state her mind was currently enveloped in. As soon as she drank the liquid, it burned her throat and she passed out again.

"You'll feel better when you wake up," the old voice said. He patted her head. "It's not your time."

As he got up to leave, he leaned on a big wooden cane.

In the shape of the Manticore symbol.

* * *

A/N: I know things are still confusing, but please bear with me. I'd really appreciate if you'd review and tell me what you thought. I hope you liked it and please let me know if there's anything I should improve on or anything I do well. Thanks guys! - angelofdarkness78

P.S. For everyone reading "Evalasting Trouble", I'm really sorry for the lack of updates. I've just had a LOT of work, but I will post a new chapter soon. I'm sorry for the delay.


	27. Mending Hearts

A/N: Here's another chapter, but once again I'm sorry that it's taken so long for me to update. Since I'm on my march break, though, I'll try to update by the end of the week. Thanks to everyone who's sticking with this, and I hope you like this chapter!

Note: Richie and Fox, if you can't remember, used to be in Unit 8 with Alec and Max. Samantha and Thomas are twins, who also used to be in Unit 8 but who were brainwashed by White.

* * *

Max slammed the door open to her apartment and blurred right in to find Original Cindy sitting on the couch with an icepack to her head. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her friend seemed to be all right and her thumping heart started to calm down. She sat down next to Cindy and hugged her as hard as she could.

"Hey, I'm aiight. My head's hurting like a bitch, but it's okay," Original Cindy said.

"What happened?" Max asked worriedly.

"Original Cindy just went out to get some snacks for the little boo 'cause your family ate all of them and then when the rain touched her face, it made her all dizzy and she fainted when she got up here," Cindy told her. "But some dude came and poured this nasty stuff down her throat, and Original Cindy woke up."

"Someone came here?" Mina said urgently. "Who was it?"

"Don't know. Everything was kinda hazy. He had some cane with a lion on it, I think. Or was it a dog?"

"A lion?" Max repeated, looking at Mina.

"Sandeman," she answered. "It's gotta be."

"Why would he come here?" Max said. "And what the hell are we going to do if people start dying now?"

"Maybe they won't die," Mina suggested. "Remember what Lydecker said? The rain's supposed to get people sick first, so that their bodies won't be able to fight the Coming when it… well, comes."

"That still doesn't explain why O.C. fainted, and why Sandeman came here," Max argued. "The rain alone can't make someone sick in five minutes. There's got to be something in it."

"I'll call Alec and tell him to get someone to test the water," Mina said. She noticed how Max flinched at Alec's name and once again she saw the pained look on her face, but she chose not to mention anything at the moment.

_She has enough to worry about as it is, _Mina decided.

"Fine," Max replied, her voice cold. Mina sighed and picked up the portable, punching in the numbers to Alec's cell.

"Alec here," he answered distractedly.

"Hey, it's Mina. Look, can you get someone to test the rainwater? We think that there's something in it that's making people sick," she said hurriedly. Already she could hear some of the neighbours coughing loudly from down the hall.

"Sure," he said, his voice still distant. "Hold on." She heard him talking to someone and then footsteps moving away. "Done. And we've found transgenics to teach the training sessions. They're getting ready. Where are you?"

"Max, Scorch and I are over at her place because Original Cindy collapsed. She's okay now. We think Sandeman was here."

"Max?" Alec said, his attention now fully focused on Mina. She smiled at the fact that he zeroed in on Max's name, and not Sandeman's.

_He's got it bad._

"Can I… can I talk to her? It's important," he said hesitantly.

Mina covered the speaker on the phone and turned to Max. "He wants to talk to you."

"I'm busy," she snapped. Feeling instantly regretful, she shot an apologetic look her way.

"She's busy, Alec," Mina relayed.

"Look, I know she's mad at me, but it's extremely important. Can you just get her on the phone? Tell her anything."

A grin tugged at the corners of Mina's lips. _If you say so._

"Max," she called out sweetly. "Alec says if you talk to him he'll give you a bubble bath later and mind-blowing sex all night."

Mina could hear Alec's groan on the other end.

"I said get her on the phone, not get her to kick my ass," he grumbled.

"Ooh, I'm so gonna kick his ass," Max mumbled as she grudgingly got up.

"I told you," Alec muttered, having heard her comment.

Max snatched the phone out of her hand and gripped it tightly. "What do you want?" she barked.

"Well, Maxie, if I told you that, you'd probably damage my favourite feature," Alec joked lightly. Hearing silence on the other, he quickly sobered up. "I have them too."

"Have what too?" she asked impatiently.

"The runes," he said. Having caught her attention, she frowned in confusion before remembering that he couldn't see her.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Gee Max, I don't know. Maybe I was sleepwalking and decided to cover my perfect body in writing, because, you know, I just love to read," he said sardonically.

"Cut the sarcasm, 494," she said sharply. She heard him draw in a breath.

"Since when were we on designation terms?" he asked. She didn't answer.

"I know you're mad at me," Alec said. "Believe me, I can understand why. But you don't get it. It's not because... it's complicated, Max. We need to talk. Seriously."

"I thought that was something you were incapable of," she retorted.

"Max."

All he said was her name, and she felt her resolve start to break. He sounded genuinely sorry, and his voice made her feel tingly all over.

_No. Letting him back in is just an invitation for more pain. I should never had been that vulnerable._

"Please." He sounded desperate, but she wasn't going to let him get to her. She wasn't ready yet.

"Bye, Alec," she said softly, and she turned the phone off before he could say another word. When she looked up, both Original Cindy and Mina were looking at her, while Scorch flipped channels on the TV. Being caught watching her, the two other women quickly busied themselves by pretending to watch TV with Scorch.

Max sighed and let the phone drop onto the couch. Then she went into her room silently and cried.

* * *

Alec closed his eyes when she had hung up on him and put his cell phone into the back pocket of his jeans. When he opened them again, Seth was standing inches away from his face, and the clenched jaw of the other man warned him that this was going to be unpleasant.

"Was that Max?" he asked, nodding towards the phone.

"Yeah." Alec saw no point in lying.

"Why were you fighting?" Seth asked as casually as if they were talking about sports.

"I don't really think that's your business," Alec said.

"When it comes to my sister, it _is_ my business," Seth replied.

"I don't have time for this," Alec growled, moving away from him. Seth caught his arm and looked him dead in the eye.

"Fix it," he said. With another look, he walked away.

"Fix things with Max?" he murmured. "I'd rather take on a hundred X7s."

* * *

"When you are in combat, the odds won't always be fair," Brin shouted to the group of transgenics watching her. "You may not always be in good condition. You may run into a situation you had not foreseen." She turned swiftly on her heels to face another group of transgenics behind her. "But do you think that your opponent will show you mercy because of this? DO YOU?"

"No, ma'am!" they chorused. Max slipped in noiselessly and watched her sister from a corner.

"No, they won't! Well, tough! Life isn't fair! But does this mean that you should just give up? DOES IT?"

"No, ma'am!" they all shouted simultaneously.

"That's right!" Brin yelled. "All right, everyone. Pair up and go through the series of exercises that I taught you."

Everyone obeyed her orders and moved off to their own space, immediately beginning to spar.

"Hey Brin," Max said. Brin looked directly at her but somehow Max felt as if she didn't really see her.

"Hello," she said curtly.

"Do you remember who I am?" Max asked gently.

"I'm not stupid Max," she replied.

"I never said you were," Max insisted. "Do you remember what happened before you went back to Manticore?"

"You and Zack came to get me from Major Sanders' base, but I was dying of Progeria so I chose to return to Manticore," she said, almost tonelessly.

"Do you regret going back?" Max asked.

It took Brin a second before answering, and even though she tried to make it seem as though she was confident in her answer, Max noticed her hesitation as she said it.

"Of course not," she said loyally. "Manticore is our home; it's where we belonged. We never should have run away."

Max sighed, giving up for the moment. She watched the hybrids fight for a minute before looking back at her sister.

"You're a good trainer," she commented.

"Thank you," Brin answered crisply.

Seeing as she wasn't going to get any further reaction from Brin, Max shuffled her feet and decided to leave. Right before she walked out the door, though, she half-turned, and saw that Brin was still watching her from the same position.

"You don't have to be like this, Brinny," Max said, using her old childhood nickname. As she did so, something flickered in the depths of Brin's dark eyes, but it was extinguished a blink later. "We're your family. Don't be afraid to come home."

Leaving her with that to mull over, she left.

* * *

"Hi!" Scorch said brightly.

"Hi!" Case said back.

"Hiya!" Little Max shrieked.

"I'm Case," Case said, taking it upon himself to begin the introductions. "And this is my cousin Little Max. Big Max is our auntie, because our mommies are her sisters. Where's your mommy?"

Scorch looked a little sad at first, but his face soon lit up. "Mina's my mommy. She's Max's best friend."

"Is she the pretty blonde lady?" Case asked.

"Yeah," Scorch replied.

"She's nice. Right Maxie?" Case asked.

"Right," Little Max repeated.

"Did you meet the ugly man?" Case asked.

"Ugwy man!" Little Max shrieked.

"Who's that?" Scorch asked.

"He has glasses, and fake teeth, and dyed blonde hair that needs to be washed," Case said. "He's annoying," he advised.

"No, I didn't meet him," Scorch said.

"Oh," was all Case said.

"What's that?" Scorch asked, pointing to the fishing wire Case held.

"Uncle Zane gave it to me," Case said proudly. "I like him. Wanna see what it does?"

"See! See! Show him!" Little Max yelled.

"Come," Case said. He tiptoed quietly to the end of the hall and peeked around the corner.

"Hold this," Case whispered. He gave Scorch one end of the fishing wire and blurred to the other across the hall.

"Ready?" he said in a voice so low only transgenics would be able to hear it. "On three, pull tight. One… two…."

"Thwee!" Little Max whispered loudly, and Case and Scorch pulled on each end. Two ordinary soldiers yelled as they tripped over the invisible wire, falling flat on their face and cursing. Little Max giggled and Case blurred over to grab her hand.

"What do we do now?" Scorch asked. Case looked at the soldiers who were getting to their feet.

"Run!"

* * *

Jondy, Zane, Krit, Syl, Eva and Jack lounged around the rec room, catching up on what they had each been doing for the past 12 years. Eva and Jack shared interesting tidbits about Lydecker, while Jondy described San Francisco to them, Zane told them about his cool boss and German Shepard that he had left behind with a friend, and Krit and Syl mostly listened.

"Did you know that Deck organizes his toiletries?" Eva said. "I know because we were over at his place for a meeting and I had to use the bathroom. The cabinets were even _labeled_. How obsessive-compulsive is _that_?"

Jondy laughed while she was drinking her beer, causing some to squirt out of her nose. Jack wrinkled his nose at the unwelcome shower.

"You're kidding me," Zane said flatly. "That's sad."

"So, you were a bartender, Dee?" Syl asked. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Yeah, but I had to deal with a bunch of drunken guys who tried o eel me up all the time." She grinned mischievously. "Who else do you think had the ability to hang them from the Golden Gate?"

Krit chuckled. "I thought that was a little strange when I heard it on the news."

"Speaking of little…" Zane said apprehensively. "Where are the kids?"

They looked around and saw no one.

"Oh crap."

* * *

X5-528 and X5-323 entered a musty bar in Seattle, taking in the peeling wallpaper, dim lights, and smoky air. X5-323 raised his eyes in interest at the various biker girls hanging around, but X5-528 nudged him and shook his head.

"We're just here for directions," he scolded. "We can't draw attention to ourselves. For all we know, there are still people out there after us."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," 323 replied, flipping him off.

"Richie, I'm serious," 528 said irritably.

"That's a first," Richie responded.

"Go ask the bartender," 528 ordered.

"Jeez, Fox, you need to relax," Richie said. "Nothing's going to happen. Manticore's gone."

At Fox's glare, he obliged and went to talk to the bartender, becoming more eager when he saw that it was a woman. Fox shook his head at his friend and ten minutes later, they were out of there.

"It shouldn't have taken that long for directions," Fox grumbled. Richie proudly held up a napkin.

"I needed some to her apartment too."

"You're pathetic, you know that?" Fox said.

"No argument there," a chilly voice said. The two men tensed as a woman and a man came out of the shadows, obviously twins. As soon as they saw who it was, they relaxed.

"Where've you guys been?" Richie asked. They didn't answer, and their facial expressions indicated that they didn't want to talk.

"Samantha?" Fox called slowly. "Thomas?"

X5-273 and X5-274 dropped down to fighting stances, and the hairs on the back of Fox's neck stood up.

"Guys? What's with you?" Richie asked. He never got a chance to answer before Thomas launched himself on him.

Punch, block, kick, block, sweep, uppercut, punch, block, sweep, backflip, block, kick, jab.

The two men were barely keeping up with the siblings until Fox managed to wrestle Samantha to the ground. He turned to help Richie but Thomas jumped up, grabbed his sister, and the two ran off. Fox helped Richie up and stared daggers at him.

"Relax, you said. Nothing's going to happen, you said. Dumbass."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I didn't expect our former units mates to attack us."

"Most important rule in the Manticore rulebook: expect the unexpected. Idiot."

* * *

Alec picked the lock to the room Max had claimed as hers in Terminal City and let himself in after a quick glance inside let him know that she wasn't there. Good. He needed a few minutes to sort out his thoughts.

_I never… I never thought she'd be the first to say it, much less say it at all. With all her denial issues, I can't believe she'd admit it. I didn't mean to hurt her, but Rachel… I loved her so much. How am I supposed to explain that to her?_

The door clicked open and Max froze when she saw Alec sitting on her bed with his head in her hands. Despite her efforts, she couldn't erase the thoughts that came to her mind when she thought about Alec. On her bed.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked, making her voice as icy as she could.

Alec wasn't even going to bother with all the witty rejoinders he could come up with. He was totally serious for once, and he waved a hand towards the other end of the bed, motioning for her to sit down. She did so without any further comment, too occupied with disposing of thoughts that shouldn't have been in her head.

"Did you mean it?" was the first thing he said. She didn't have to ask what he was talking about. "Did you mean it or did you just say it in the moment?"

"I meant it," she said, after a minute of consideration.

"Did I ever tell you about the missions I went on before I met you?" he asked, confusing her with the sudden change of subject.

"No," she answered. "What does that have to do with anything?"

For once, Alec looked unsure of himself. Of what he wanted to say. And that in itself made Max put her animosity on the backburner and listen.

"Almost a year and a half before I met you, I was sent out on a solo mission. I was ordered to pose as a piano teacher and teach Robert Berrisford's daughter to retrieve information from him. Her name was Rachel." There was a sad smile on his face that made Max slightly jealous, but she made no noise.

"I fell in love with her," was the next thing he said, making her heart almost break.

"I was ordered to assassinate her and her father as soon as I found overwhelming evidence about Manticore. I couldn't do it. But they did it for me. They detonated the bomb and then dragged me off to Psy Ops."

She couldn't even hear herself breathe. She was afraid that if she moved even an inch he would stop talking.

"I didn't think that I could love anyone else ever again. I didn't want to, in case anything ever happened to them and I felt the pain all over again."

"I know what you mean," Max said absently. "Like you can't get up in the morning."

"But you do and you continue the usual day routines," Alec continued.

"Even though you don't really feel like you're in your body," Max finished.

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"I guess I just needed to tell you that before anything serious happens between us. I don't want to lie to you."

"Those are the words every girl wants to hear," she said, chuckling. "If you go around saying that, every woman on earth will want you."

"Don't they already?"

Finally, a smile broke out on Alec's face, a genuine one, not cocky or self-absorbed at all. Max decided she loved seeing him smile.

"So, we good?" Alec asked. Max's heart plummeted a little when she realized he still hadn't said the words back to her, but she plastered a grin on her face and nodded.

"Uh huh," she said. He gave her a chaste kiss on the lips and she watched as he began to leave.

"Max?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you too." He opened the door and left. She sat there for a second before she heard a loud, high-pitched squeal of delight.

It took her another second to realize it was coming from her.

* * *

"Om'nar t'resh sucan taleb," over a hundred voices chanted. "Hakim tor'an sil'tash mor'tayn."

They repeated the chant several times, until all their voice blended into one strong one. Finally, a woman at the front with ceremonial paint expertly put on her face silenced them. Each person removed their hoods and they all ducked their heads towards the Priestess. At her indication, four men stepped forward. One of them was Ames White.

They muttered another prayer with her and raised their hands towards the sky, their eyes closed and a look of pure bliss on each of their faces. Finally, a young boy made his way over, bravely carrying an enormous snake that writhed and slithered around his body. The Priestess took the snake from him and the boy held out his arm. He didn't even flinch as the snake bit him. He even looked a little proud and triumphant. White gave the boy an approving look and the child returned to the crowd.

"The Coming is upon us!" the Priestess announced, raising the snake up high. "Already, nature is clearing the way for us. The acidic rains will wipe out the weakest of the weak!"

The crowd yelled in victory.

"In a week and a half, the world will be ours! We will rule the earth, just as the prophecy dictates. No longer will we have to deal with the human filth! No longer will we have to hide!"

Shouts of agreement were heard.

"It is time… for us to take over."

* * *

A/N: Slightly shorter chapter, I know, and I'm sorry, but I really wanted to get this out. Feedback is appreciated from all of you. I hope you liked this! And for those interested, check out my forum! You might have some fun! 


	28. Love Triangles

A/N: I know I've been a really crappy updater, but I hope you'll all forgive me because I've been so busy for the past month. Please review and give me feedback, even if it's only to rant at me for taking so long:) Also, read the A/N at the bottom for a chance to be a minor character in this fic!

* * *

"Ready for 'the talk'?" Jay asked as he sat down beside Mina in her room.

"If it's about sex, daddy, I already know all about it," Mina joked. Jay frowned.

"Why do you do that?" he asked her.

"Do what?"

"Every time you have to be serious or are anywhere in the vicinity of emotional vulnerability, you always make some joke like it's no big deal," he said.

Mina sighed, caught. "I don't know. I guess it's just easier that way."

Silence penetrated the room until Jay broke it again.

"I'm starting to remember more things," he said quietly. "But just little bits and pieces here and there that make no sense."

"That's how it was for me when I started to remember," Mina said. "I thought I was going crazy until I started putting the pieces together. From what I can tell, they brainwashed us and put us in another unit."

"By why would they do that in the first place?" Jay asked.

"How am I supposed to know? I still don't remember all of it. I just remember how cold it was when we tried to run away that night, and I remember being called by a different name. Vada. And when I met Max, we just clicked so fast… it was weird. I never got close to anybody before that," she said.

"Sometimes I get these flashes," Jay started, "of me and you, in all these really nice places. On cruises and in sunny cities. But then there's one that I never get. We're in this black SUV with Colonel McGrath and I look out of the window and I see this face walking along the sidewalk that I recognize. The next thing I know, I'm in Psy Ops."

"I remember that," she said thoughtfully. "You pointed out a face to me, but I never got a really good look at him before the Colonel knocked us out. You think it was one of the '09ers?"

"I don't know what I think. Everything's really screwed up right now, with the Coming and all, so now's hardly the time to be having an identity crisis." He frowned when he saw the faraway look on her face. "What?"

"I was just thinking about the fun we had," she said wistfully. "We were always doing stupid stuff on the off-hours of our missions, like robbing the snobby people in the rich district, or jumping of bridges, scaling buildings… We never got bored with each other."

"I can't imagine ever being bored with you," he said softly, brushing a stray lock off her face. He looked at her intently, his eyes locked on hers. He moved his head closer, and they were inches apart when Mina started to feel panicky.

_What the hell is wrong with me? I've been waiting for him to kiss me for forever._

Somehow, she couldn't fight down the feeling that what she was doing was wrong, so she turned her face away at the last second and summoned all her strength to pull away. She didn't know why, but she felt enormously guilty, and even more so when she saw the confused look on Jay's face.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

An almost inaudible creak sounded in the room and Mina's head snapped around just in time to see Biggs looking straight back at her. His eyes moved from her to Jay, and then he finally turned around and left without looking back.

"You care a lot about him, don't you?" Jay said. Her mouth opened but no words came out, and she just sat there trying to form words. He gave her an easy smile.

"Hey, it's okay. I didn't expect you to wait around forever for me."

"No!" she said quickly. "That's not it at all!"

"I'm just going to go," he said, letting himself out. Mina blew out a breath slowly.

_So this is how Max felt.

* * *

_

"Max," Lydecker said, catching her arm as she passed by. She looked oddly at his hand grasping hers until he hastily removed it. "We really need to know what those runes say so that we can have an idea of what the Coming actually is and the damage it'll cause."

"Okay," Max said shrugging. "But who's gonna translate them? You know, if Sandy was going to mutilate my body, he could have at least done it in some language I understood."

"He wanted to make sure no one else could read it, Max," Lydecker said, exasperated.

"Yeah well, he could have just drawn funky pictograms just showing us what's going to happen. You know, a bunch of flames signifying hell over here, a skull and crossbones over there…" she said, indicating spots on her body. "Or he could have just tattooed 'the end of the world' in big giant letters across my stomach. Bet Alec would find that funny because he's not liking the novel written on him either."

"494 has the runes as well?" Lydecker asked sharply.

"_Alec _has them," she corrected.

"Why would he have them?" Lydecker mused.

"Well, you know how he hates being left out of thing," she joked, grinning. "Never lets me be the special one."

Lydecker shook his head. "It doesn't make sense."

"Yeah, well neither does some weird apocalypty thingmcbob, genetically engineered soldiers and crazy cult loonies. If you're looking for sense, you're on the wrong planet, bub," she retorted.

He gave her a displeased frown. "I don't know where I went wrong. You're a good soldier, yes, but also the most insolent being on earth."

"Are you talking about Max?" someone called from around the corner. Seth appeared and gave a little nod. "Thought so," he said, grinning.

"Shut up," Max said, rolling her eyes.

"Did Alec fix whatever stupid thing he did?" Seth asked. Max blinked before biting her tongue to keep from laughing.

"You went all overprotective brother on him? No wonder he was so anxious to get back in my good graces."

Seth shrugged nonchalantly. "What can I say? No one messes around with my baby sister."

At the sound of a throat clearing, they both suddenly remembered that Lydecker was there. He looked a little uncomfortable with the display of affection.

"As I was saying," he continued, trying to regain control of the conversation, "it's imminent that we translate the runes on both you and 49 – Alec."

Seth whistled. "Alec has the runes too? It's almost cute the way you guys do everything together."

"Be quiet, 617!" Lydecker barked.

"Yes Sir," Seth responded automatically before he could stop himself. He cringed.

_You can take the soldier out of Manticore, but you can't take Manticore out of the soldier, _Lydecker thought.

"So who's gonna translate this stuff?" Max asked. "It's not exactly like we can walk into a bookstore and say, 'Hi there. We're looking for a book that can translate an old language dictating a prophecy about the world ending. Do you have any in stock?"

Lydecker sighed, not even bothering to scold her for so much sarcasm about such an important topic. "That's the part I don't know," he admitted. "From what little Sandeman told me, it's in an old language called Minoan, but it's so dead there aren't any books on how to translate it."

"Well then – " Max broke off, noticing Seth intense stare. "What?"

"I've… I've seen those before," he said slowly, not taking his eyes off of the runes. "I just remembered." He pulled her arm to him and rolled up the sleeve to take a closer look. Letting his eyes travel over the runes, he searched his mind for where he had seen them.

_Flashback_

"_Let me check that these are the right disks," Logan said, opening up the briefcase._

_He booted up his computer and hundreds of tiny caricatures popped up on the screen with words written underneath._

"_Why do you want these anyways?" Lydecker posed._

"_It's none of your concern." To Seth he said, "Sorry. Wish it didn't work out this way/"_

_End Flashback_

_Flashback_

"_Lydecker held up some disks and he traded them for me," Seth said to Max and Alec. _

"_Bastard," Alec snarled._

_End Flashback_

"No way," he murmured. "Logan."

"What about Logan?" Max said worriedly. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"Those disks… Deck, remember when that guy handed me over to you in exchange for some disks?" Seth asked. Lydecker showed no recollection for a moment and then he wrinkled his forehead.

"Vaguely," he said. "Why?"

"Do you remember what was on the disks?" Seth pressed.

"It was about 7 years ago, Seth, and I'm getting old. I don't really remember."

"I do. I remember being pissed off, because he traded me in for a bunch of funny little pictures," Seth said heatedly.

"Little pictures?" Max asked, before it clicked. "The runes."

"Logan Cale knows how to translate them. Because you gave him the disks 7 years ago," Seth said firmly.

* * *

"Weady?" Little Max whispered.

"Ready," Case whispered back. His agile fingers quickly tied up the last balloon filled with various substances and he handed it to Scorch, who expertly attached it to the ceiling with some tape. All three of their heads turned as they heard voices approaching and the three darted behind the couch and picked up their designated throwing objects: For Case, a screwdriver Zane had let him play with, for Scorch, a wrench, and for little Max, her rattle.

They kept silent as they watched the tired ordinary soldiers pick up their cups of coffee and drain them in one gulp. Then the soldiers proceeded to munch on some doughnuts resting on the table. Case slowly raised his head above the couch, and then his eyes darted up to the balloons directly over their heads. He let out a small chuckle, low enough so that the soldiers didn't hear him. He looked at Scorch and Max, then raised three fingers to his eyes and pointed. The other two nodded and picked up their objects, squinting as they aimed for the balloons on the ceiling. Case threw his screwdriver and met his target dead-on. The balloon popped and greeted the soldiers with a bunch of dirt. Scorch threw his wrench at the same time, and the second balloon showered the men with spoilt milk. They yelled and put their hands over their heads for protection. Max threw her rattle carelessly and instead of hitting the third balloon, smacked a soldier directly in the face.

"Maxie!" Case whined. "Uh oh," he said, as the angry men faced them. "Run left!" he yelled. Scorch and Case ran, but Little Max headed off in the wrong direction. Scorch ran back, grabbed her, and then ran out of the room.

They ran down the hall and smacked into Zane, who had a stern look on his face.

"What have you three been up to?" he scolded. His nose crinkled. "And why do you smell like sour milk?"

"We poured some on the soldiers," Scorch said. "Sorry."

Zane kept his stern look for another moment before laughing. "Come on. I hear them coming!"

* * *

"Is Seth sure about this?" Alec asked, as they picked Logan's lock and let themselves in.

"Yeah," Max said. "He was positive he saw the runes before." She sighed. "I can't believe Logan kept so much from me."

They stepped into the living room, but there was no one there.

"I guess he must have gone out," Alec said. "Oh well. Now we can snoop easier. How much you wanna bet he has embarrassing baby photos? Or, ooh! An 'I love Britney Spears!' T-shirt."

"Alec," she said warningly, moving to search the contents of his computer desk.

"What?" he asked innocently. He moved to Logan's bedroom, and opened his bedside drawer, finding a picture of a younger Logan as a drag queen. He flipped it over and it said, "Halloween Party, 2013".

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Alec said to himself. "Boy Logan, you look better as a girl." As soon as his eyes fell on another picture, his smile faded. He picked it up gingerly and examined the photo.

Logan was in a wheelchair with Max sitting on his lap, both of them smiling widely with Logan's arm around her waist. They were obviously at a special occasion, Alec noted, seeing their outfits. He stared at Max, looking radiant in her red dress, and felt his blood boil as he saw Logan's offending limb wrapped around her.

_She looks so happy here, _he thought. _I've never seen her look like this. And the way she's looking at him…. I don't think she ever looks at me that way. _

He flipped the picture over, and saw that Logan had written "Bennett and Marianne's wedding, 2019." He turned back to the picture and felt his confidence leave him. He compared himself to the other man. Alec was much stronger, and IQ-wise, much smarter, though he had to give the devil its due: Logan was a genius as far as ordinaries go. They were both blond, except Alec's eyes were hazel where Logan's were blue. Logan dedicated himself to saving the world where all Alec did was cause trouble in it.

_How am I suppose to compete with this guy when he's Mr. Perfect?_

"That day sucked," Max said from behind him. He whirled around and put the picture down quickly as if it had burned him. "I didn't even get any cake."

"You guys had a lot of fun before you were recaptured, huh?" he said.

"A lot of it wasn't fun," Max said. "There was always something getting in the way, whether it was his obsession with his missions, my sibs showing up, or his getting out of the wheelchair and then landing back in it. I don't think we would have ever worked out anyways. Me and Logan… we're different. We always got on each other's nerves, and he completely didn't understand me." She smiled sadly. "I remember the way he treated Zack, and Jace. He would always call Zack a thief, and of course he conveniently forgot I was one too. And when that Manticore doctor was in town – who double crossed us, by the way – he cared more about her life than my sister's. It just… he never understood."

She turned Alec's head away from the picture so that they were face to face. "You understand."

"I do."

She brushed her lips against his, sending shivers down his spine. He, in turn, caressed her face with the palm of his hand, and she closed her eyes, her lashes soft against his skin.

"I want you to be mine. Only mine." His eyes traveled to her neck, his intent clear.

"Not here. It isn't right," she whispered. "Later." She opened her eyes to look at him. "Okay?"

She leaned forward and kissed his temple, then his neck, and finally his Adam's apple. He felt his jeans grow tighter and he kissed her fully on the lips. He massaged her tongue with his and pulled away after he heard her moan, moving to plant kisses on her collarbone. He had the strongest urge to bite down, claim her as his right then, but he forced himself to wait. She was right; it was the wrong place.

"Later, I promise," she mumbled against his chest. She pressed herself against him and kissed him again, but Alec stumbled backwards and knocked an object off the top into the still-open drawer. They both paused, hearing a funny sound. Alec let go of her and picked up the object – a frame – and dropped it into the drawer again. It made a funny sound once more – a hollow sound. He pulled out his switchblade and pried a corner up with the tip, and then pulled off the whole layer. Underneath was a pile containing about 5 disks. There was no label on them, so Max quickly popped them into Logan's computer while Alec reset the drawer.

"Alec," she called urgently. He moved beside her.

"Bingo."

* * *

"Sir, we've found out what's in the rain. There's a strange acid made up of several unrecognizable compounds that infects the blood upon entering the system," a soldier reported to Lydecker. "It's not nearly enough to kill a person, but it can do enough damage so that the person's immune system is severely weakened, allowing the toxin to kill more easily."

"Good work X6-362," Lydecker said. "See if you can find out if this acid can be gotten rid of once it's inside the body." He looked at Krit, who was sleeping on a couch, and whacked him on a head. "X5-471 will help you."

"Help what?" Krit groaned, disgruntled at being awoken. "I was having a very nice dream, mind you."

"You excelled in Field Med," Lydecker said. "So help this soldier or I'll – "

"You'll what?" Krit taunted. "We used to be afraid of you, Deck." He moved closer to the older man, who betrayed none of his emotions.

"Guess what? We're not anymore." Getting out of his face, he nodded to the X6 who was watching the exchange in surprise. "All right, kid. What do you need help with?"

* * *

"So, this X2 was trying to steal my smokes, and I told him – " Mole started.

"Concentrate!" Brin barked in his face.

"Look sister, I'm concentrating! What? Do I have to put on a constipated look?"

Brin's eyes flashed and before he even finished his sentence, she had flipped him over on to his back. She bent down.

"Concentrate," she repeated. She moved on to the next group of soldiers training, and her gaze fell on Jondy.

_Flashback_

"_Dee, what are you doing?" Brin asked as Jondy climbed into her bunk._

"_Can't sleep," she replied. She bounced up and down. "Want to go to the high place?"_

"_I'm tired, Dee. Why don't you ask Maxie?"_

_Jondy's face took on a worried expression. "Zack's with her. She's got the shakes again."_

"_You're not going to leave me alone, are you?" Brin said, sighing, though with a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth._

"_Nope. Come on!"_

"_Okay, baby sister."_

_End Flashback_

Brin's glazed eyes refocused as she shook her feelings of longing away. She didn't need a family. She was a soldier.

"You're keeping your right side open too much, Dee!" Brin called out. Both she and her sister froze at the slip of her name.

_210. Her name's 210._

"Brin?" Jondy asked, hope in her eyes. Brin shielded her emotions from the other woman and waved her hand dismissively. "Work harder, 210."

She didn't look at Jondy for the rest of the training exercises although she certainly felt her gaze.

_I don't need family.

* * *

_

"Hey," Mina said, rapping lightly on the door frame. "Can I come in?"

She was met with no response so she walked in anyway.

"Biggs? Are you mad at me?"

"No," he said tonelessly.

"Biggs, come on. I need you to talk to me," Mina said, frustrated.

"You never used to want to talk," he said.

"I'm going through some changes right now," she tried. "It's complicated."

"Obviously not so complicated that he knows about it," he retorted.

"You don't get it – "

"No, I don't!" he shouted. "I don't get why you had such a big yen for some guy who didn't even want to be with you before! I mean, what's wrong with being with me?"

"Nothing!" she yelled back. "But I need to know what happened in the past before I can even think about being with someone right now! God, Biggs, I don't even know if 839 is even my designation! Or if I was an '09er! Or if my name used to be Vada!"

Stunned into silence, Biggs just looked at her, uncomprehending. He looked like a fish out of the water, just gaping at her.

"What are you talking about?" he asked in an incredulous voice.

"Yeah," Eva said, standing in the doorway with Jack and Syl. "What _are_ you talking about?"

* * *

Ben walked aimlessly on the streets of Seattle with nothing to do, staring at his feet as he walked. Finally he stopped and his blood ran cold when he saw the place he was standing at.

OUR LADY OF THE SACRED HEART CHURCH  
SUNDAY MASS 8:00 AM 9:00 AM 11:00 AM  
WEEKDAYS 7:00 PM  
REV. W.R. DESTRY

"No," he whispered, willing his feet to move but finding that he couldn't. His mind's eye ran through the number of victims he had killed, the way he had hunted them. He closed his eyes and gripped his hair.

"No, go away," he muttered in prayer. "I'm not like that anymore."

But he knew why he was there. He needed closure. He needed to fix what he had done.

His hands shaking, he forced himself to go inside. As soon as the door closed he felt as if he would never be able to leave. He was trapped inside this church for forever.

Looking up at the enormous statue of the Blue Lady, he found that he could not hate her. He just felt let down. Right in front of the statue was the one person he was looking for. His heart thumping in his chest, he moved forward.

The person had not noticed him yet, but Ben didn't want to startle him so he cleared his throat loudly. The man turned around, and upon seeing Ben, his face went bleach white and he braced himself against the Blue Lady.

"God help me," Father Destry prayed. He looked at Ben with fear in his eyes, and it was a pitiful sight that he hated. He stepped forward and the man cowered.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Ben said softly. Looking at the man's terrified face, he felt enormously guilty and a tear leaked out from the corner of his eye. Father Destry frowned in confusion.

"I'm sorry," Ben whispered. "I did so many bad things. But I'm really, really sorry for everything that I did."

Father Destry cautiously moved towards him and holding his breath, he reached out to lay a hand on the man's shoulder. To Ben's horror, he found himself crying, the memories of his victims and their families fresh in his mind.

"I'm sorry. Please don't hate me."

"It's all right," Father Destry said, seeing that Ben wasn't going to attack him. He relaxed. "Everything's fine. I forgive you. So does the Lady."

"Thank you," Ben said. He bowed his head. "Thank you."

_Closure._

_Forgiveness.

* * *

_

A/N: I hope you guys liked that. Feedback is always welcome, and once again, I'm sorry that I took so long to update. Also, I have eight X5/XP soldiers that need naming, so if you want, the first eight people to review will get to be a character in my story. Not necessarily big ones, but you guys get to choose a name and personality for that soldier. For example, "I want my name to be Tamara, and she's spunky and fun." So, review and the first eight will get to be in this fic! Sorry to everyone else, but it's just hard to handle so many characters. I still have to bring in some old ones:)

- angelofdarkness78


	29. Lovers and Enemies

A/N: Yeah, I know it's been forever, but I've been really busy. Sorry. Thankfully I only have about a month left of school, then I can update regularly again. And since so many people wanted to put their minor characters in this fic, I just put them all in. :)

By the way, due to a steamy scene in this chapter (all of you guys requesting that Max and Alec finally "do it" have worn me down) I'm going to change this fic's rating to rated R, just so that you know where to find it. Feedback is much appreciated!

**WARNING: There is some M rated content in this chapter

* * *

**

"_Nothing!" she yelled back. "But I need to know what happened in the past before I can even think about being with someone right now! God, Biggs, I don't even know if 839 is even my designation! Or if I was an '09er! Or if my name used to be Vada!"_

_Stunned into silence, Biggs just looked at her, uncomprehending. He looked like a fish out of the water, just gaping at her._

"_What are you talking about?" he asked in an incredulous voice._

"Yeah, what _are_ you talking about?" Eva asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she looked on from the doorway. Syl and Jack had equally confused expressions on their faces and the distrust in their eyes made Mina squirm a little.

"Nothing," Mina said, trying to diffuse the situation. _I can't tell them anything until I know for sure._ "It's nothing." She tried to slide past the doorway, but Eva grabbed her arm forcefully and threw her onto the couch. Her eyes were fierce and her attitude every bit of the soldier she was created to be.

"You can't just say something like that and expect to walk away, Mina," Eva ground out. "Now you're going to tell me exactly what is going on." _Like how you know about Vada._

"I just need some sleep," Mina tried lamely, but the look on Eva's face told her that it wasn't going to cut it.

"What do you know about Vada?" Eva asked.

Mina twirled her long hair, as she often did when she was nervous and she looked away from her. "I think… that I used to be her."

"Bullshit," Eva snapped, but even as she spoke doubt began to form inside her as she looked Mina over. _Vada would be around Mina's age if she were alive. And she always had the blondest hair…_

"I don't know, okay!" Mina shouted. "Half a year ago my life was fine, other than being in Manticore. I didn't have stupid flashes all the time. I knew who I was! But then when Max and I met, everything started flooding back, and none of it made any sense. So you know what, yell at me all you want, but it's not going to change what I feel!" Her voice rose at the end and bordered on hysterical.

Jack stepped forward and put a restraining hand on his sister's shoulder, warning her to calm down. "Eva, she's right. If we're going to figure this out, you've got to listen to her."

"Like hell I do!" Eva retorted, shaking her brother's hand off. The Manticore mask had slipped from her face, and now her eyes were tearing up, the anguish in them almost unbearable for him to look at.

"No one was closer to her than me, Jack! And now after all these years of her being dead, someone just comes up and claims to be her?" She turned on Mina. "How dare you pretend to be my sister. How dare you start all this drama about her! You're a liar, and you know nothing about my family!"

Shocked at her outburst, Mina recoiled but forced herself to look at Eva. _Look at all the trouble I've caused. I never should have opened my big mouth._

Eva was now angrily wiping the tears away from her face, her eyes blazing in anger. Jack tried to console her but she moved away from him, her eyes locked on Mina's pitiful figure. She watched as Mina rocked back and forth on the couch, tapping her knees lightly with her eyes closed. The strange movement made Eva's anger dissipate and wonder replaced it as she relived her past.

_Flashback_

"_What are you doing baby sister?" _

"_I hate it when Zack and Zane fight. It was really bad this time," the young blonde whispered, her fingers nervously tapping her knees._

"_They'll cool off by morning and then be best friends by lunchtime. They'll probably be at each other's throats again in a couple of days, but you know that they don't really hate each other. We're family, Vada. We always will be."_

"_I know."_

_Eva smiled and flicked one of her sister's fingers. "All right, kiddo. Time to get to bed."_

_End Flashback_

Eva's eyebrows knit together as Mina continued to tap her knees, and her hands began to shake.

"Eva?" Jack asked with concern.

"What is it big sister?" Syl asked, reminding the others of her presence.

Biggs however, was more concerned with Mina's strange antics. He wiped the tears running down her face but she seemed to take no notice.

Eva shook her head disbelievingly. "It _is_ her," she whispered. Regret filled her as she remembered her accusations.

"But I thought – " Syl started.

"I was wrong," Eva stated simply, her eyes low. She stepped closer to Mina and the other woman pulled back, acting as if Eva was going to hit her, but seeing that that wasn't her intention, she looked curiously up at her.

"I'm sorry, Vada," Eva said, wrapping her arms around her long-lost sister. "I'm sorry."

After a few moments, Mina relaxed into the embrace.

_We'll always be family._

A minute later, the two women pulled away and Syl and Jack took their turns to hug Mina hesitantly, while Biggs looked on in utter confusion.

"And I thought us transgenics couldn't get any more screwed up," he muttered, shaking his head.

"I have to tell you guys something else," Mina said, remembering something else. She looked at them sheepishly. "It's about Kavi."

* * *

"I can't believe we're going to do this," Seth muttered. "Don't get me wrong, it's not like I care about these idiots, but T.C. stinks enough, don't you think? I mean, even us transgenics have a limit for the stench we can take."

"Come on bro, this trick's priceless," Zane said. "Remember back at Manticore? Poop Wednesday, we used to call it. These babies have serious effects." He watched in excitement as one of the ordinary soldiers picked up his coffee and gulped it down quickly. "Ooh boy."

"How much laxative did you put in there?" Seth asked. Zane only grinned at him in response, and Seth burst out laughing. His eyes widened and he clamped a hand over his mouth as two of the soldiers put down their coffee and headed toward the noise.

"Shit, how come the stuff's not working?" Zane cursed, watching the soldiers approach from behind their hiding spot.

"Which cups did you put it in, man?" Seth asked.

"The ones right beside the doughnuts," Zane hissed back. Seth looked at the position of the soldiers' cups and groaned.

"Dumbass, they didn't take those ones."

"Well, they're not on the table anymore, so who could have – " He broke off as he saw Lydecker standing in the corner, sipping from his coffee cup. Zane's eyes traveled from the table to Lydecker and back, and this time it was he who broke out laughing.

"We gotta get out of here," Seth said, tugging his brother's shirt. They ran down the hallway jumping over some pieces of rope carelessly lying around on the floor, the soldiers hot on their heels, when all of a sudden the following footsteps stopped. Seth and Zane made their way cautiously back down the hall, finding it completely deserted.

"Where did they go?" Zane asked, scratching his head in bewilderment.

"Uh, bro?" Seth said, pointing upwards to the ceiling.

"What the – ?"

The two soldiers hung upside down from the ceiling, their faces turning purple with rage.

"Do you remember planting this prank?" Zane asked slowly. Seth shook his head.

"Nuh uh."

"Get us down you filthy vermin!" one of the soldiers shouted.

"That's not nice," a female voice said. Stepping out of a utility closet, a leggy brunette with her hair carelessly tied back in a loose ponytail observed her work with a proud smile.

She grinned at the two brothers. "Kind of clashes with the décor, but they'll make a fine piece of artwork, don't you think?"

"You did this?" Seth asked.

"Yup. You gotta work on your skills baby boy, 'cause if you want to keep up with my superb pranking abilities then you better get practicing," she said. She winked at Seth. "Designation's X5-076, but my name's Wylie."

She looked at the two furious soldiers once more, and then stepped onto a skateboard she had hidden in the closet. "Catch ya later," she said, saluting them and riding off, leaving both Seth and Zane with their mouths wide open.

"Whoa."

* * *

"We need someone on the inside, Brother White," a woman with tribal markings on her face hissed. "I can feel that those transgenics are up to something. They're going to try to stop our destiny." She laughed, low and mean. "Not that they could. But I want this to go perfect without any interference. The Coming supposed to be a special day for us, and I don't want to be dealing with problems the day we take over."

"I understand, Sister, but we don't have someone on our side who can fit in with them. Us superior Familiars could never successfully pretend to be one of them vermin. They'd find us out in an instant."

"I never said we'd send one of our own," the woman said. "You do have X5-273 and X5-274 under your control, don't you?"

White nodded, understanding her plan. "I'll get right on it, Sister."

* * *

"Hey Max," Dix said as she entered T.C.'s headquarters. The deformed transgenic gave her a slight smile. "How've you been doing?"

"I'm okay," Max said, returning his smile with one of her own. "Just a little tired with what's been going on."

"Obviously," Dix responded. "But if you don't mind, I'd like to have some pictures of the runes so that I can start to decipher them. I'm three-quarters of the way through cracking the code on those disks you gave me, so it shouldn't take too long until we figure out exactly what we're dealing with."

"No prob," Max said easily.

"Hey Max, I'll take the pictures for you," an X5 named Taro said suggestively. "We could do it later tonight."

"Kiss my ass," she retorted.

"Love to, honey."

"I'd suggest not to, because the percentage of Alec beating you to a bloody pulp is about a 99 certainty," an IT concentrate named Braden piped up. He frowned. "No, make that 99.9. Jeez, I'm really off my statistics today."

"Horrors, nerd boy. You were .9 off. That's shameful to the whole lot of you," Mole drawled, taking a long puff of his cigar.

"Do you have to smoke in here?" Max asked, crinkling her nose.

"Please princess. It ain't like you're gonna get lung cancer or anything," he told her, defiantly taking another long drag. She scowled at him.

"Why are you so high-strung anyway?" Mole asked her, moving closer and purposely blowing a cloud of smoke her way.

"85 percent indicates that it's due to some unresolved sexual tension," Braden explained. At Max's glare, he hastily went back to doing his work and Mole grabbed a gun off of the desk.

"I'm going out on sentry duty," he announced.

"Make sure you're not seen," Max told him. "I don't want any more publicity than there already is." He nodded and left. She tensed at the feel of a hand on her shoulder and forced herself not to throw the owner of the offending limb across the room.

"Unresolved, huh? You know, I could – " Taro ducked at the last minute to avoid a punch to the head.

"Alec!" Taro said, holding his hands up. "I was just kidding, dude. You know I wouldn't go after your girl." He looked nervously at the alpha male. "Buddy?"

"Sure," 'Alec' said with a smile that was friendly yet dangerous at the same time. "Don't you have something to do?" he asked, as he wrapped his arms around Max.

"Yeah. See you later." Taro blurred out of there without a moment's hesitation.

"So, 'Alec' where have you been?" Max asked, turning to look at the man who held her. She grinned and kissed his cheek. "Thanks big bro."

Ben chuckled. "See how he ran out of here? That, my baby sister, is the power of the almighty Ben."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but he actually believed you were Alec," she said. "So technically, it would be the power – "

"Of almighty Alec," Ben grumbled despondently. "Yeah, yeah. Did I ever tell you that having a twin sucks? I don't get any credit for what I do anymore. It's like Faith being compared to Buffy all of the time."

Max rose her eyebrow. "You watched that Pre-Pulse show?"

Ben's cheeks grew a little red. "No," he mumbled without looking at her.

"Right."

"They were showing old reruns and I was too lazy to turn the channel, okay?" he said defensively.

"Uh huh."

"What's going on?" Alec asked, walking into HQ. "I thought I'd find you here," he said to Max, bending down to kiss her.

"Ben was just telling me how you were taking over his life," Max said, ignoring the deadly glare coming from her brother.

"He has a life?" Alec asked, feigning surprise. "When did that happen?"

"Around the time I shoved my foot up your ass," Ben growled.

"Well, now that's a gross visual," Alec commented. He backed away from his twin. "Sorry, man. I guess we've got a Faith/Buffy thing going on, huh?"

Max rounded on him. "You too?" she asked incredulously. "Am I the only person who hasn't watched the show?"

"Well, Sarah Michelle Gellar was kind of hot. If she wasn't older than me… damn, she could have been an X5," he said.

"Yeah, I thought so too," Ben agreed. Max looked between the two men and rolled her eyes at their behaviour.

"I'm starting to think it was a bad idea that you guys ever met," she said. "Having two of Alec around – "

"See that's what's so unfair," Ben cut in. "I'm older. Why isn't it, 'Having two of Ben around?'"

"I can't believe you're arguing with me about this," she said blankly. "You're just as immature as Alec."

"See?" Ben pointed out, just to bother her. "You did it again! Why not 'Alec's just as immature as Ben?'"

Max breathed out slowly. "I'm surrounded by crazy people." She froze at the words, not believing what she had just said. She looked abashedly at Ben, hating her choice of words.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean – "

"I'm fine, Max," Ben said kindly. "I went to see Father Destry a couple of hours ago. We had a nice long chat."

Ice gripped Max's heart at the mention of a 'chat'. Seeing the turmoil in her eyes, he gave her a reassuring hug.

"Chat as in actually speaking," he clarified. "Whatever Manticore did to me, they fixed me good. You don't have to worry; I didn't hurt him." He smirked. "Wouldn't want to ruin _Alec's_ reputation by throttling a Father."

"Dude, you already have just by going into a church," Alec said gamely. "Now people will think that I'm some pious guy."

"I highly doubt it," Max said, arching a perfectly shaped eyebrow. Moving forward, she plucked Alec's camera phone from his jeans.

"What are you doing with my phone?" he inquired.

"I need to ask one of my sisters to take some photos of my runes. You need to do the same," she told him.

"You know, Maxie, it would be a lot easier if we just did each other, no pun intended," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Ha, that's funny. That's exactly what Taro said to her," Ben said. He watched amusedly as Alec's teeth clenched.

"Taro?"

He stalked off and Ben chortled to himself until he saw his little sister glaring at him menacingly. Looking for an escape, he noticed one of the ordinary soldiers walking past HQ eating something.

"Ooh! Doughnuts!"

And with that, he rushed away from her.

Max sighed.

"Men."

* * *

"Here."

Tinga put a cup of coffee down on the table in front of Charlie and curled up beside him. "Drink this. It may taste like crap, but it's all we've got."

"Do you think we should go look for Case?" he asked worriedly. "He's been got a long time. And your brothers… don't get me wrong Pe – Tinga, but they seem a little bit on the wild side.

"Don't worry," she assured him. "The worst they're going to do is teach him how to beat people up, which isn't necessarily a bad thing considering he needs to be able to defend himself."

Charlie's face blanched and he shakily reached for his coffee. Tinga took notice of his reaction and chuckled.

"Like I said, don't worry. I think he's playing with his cousin and Scorch."

"Is Scorch an ordinary kid?" he asked her.

"No, he's transgenic too," she clarified. She rubbed his back. "By the way, you're going to have to leave soon."

"Leave?" he asked in surprise. "Why?"

"T.C's full of toxins, and you can get really sick. But don't worry baby, Max said you can stay at her friend's house. I think her name was Cindy."

"Pe – Tinga, I don't know if I should leave. I mean – Case…"

"He'll be fine here. He's immune to the toxins just like we are," she told him.

Charlie looked uneasily at her and finally nodded his head reluctantly.

"All right Pe – Tinga."

She smiled at him. "You can still call me Penny if you want."

"I don't want to," he said. "If we're going to have a life together, then I don't want any more lies. I want to know who you are as Tinga."

"I'm still the same, Charlie." She paused to think. "Except I can see in the dark, jump 20 feet, take out a former linebacker with my forefinger and thumb, dodge speeding bullets, hear and see really far, and go into heat once in a while, but really, I'm not all that different."

"Oh sure, you're just a regular woman all right," Jace said.

"Hey sis."

"Have you seen little Max?" Jace asked. "I can't find her anywhere." She nodded at Charlie. "Hi."

"Hi," he said back.

"You should ask Zane," Tinga suggested. "I think he's with the kids. They're probably fine."

* * *

"You!"

Case's eyes grew wide as the menacing soldier moved towards him, Max, and Scorch, dripping sour milk.

"You little monsters! You know what I'm going to do with you? I'm going to catch you, and then I'm going to – "

Little Max pulled a string and the soldier fell to the floor unconscious as various objects fell onto his head.

"Hihihi," she giggled.

"Good work, Maxie," Scorch said. The three of them tilted their heads to the side as they listened carefully.

"Another one's coming," Case said. "Get ready little Max."

Max held on to another piece of rope they had found in the utility closet and waited until she saw the man round the corner when she tugged hard. The man went down in an instant with a muffled groan.

Case frowned. "I know him." They moved closer and poked the man.

"It's de ugwy man!" Little Max shrieked.

"Wogan," Scorch declared, seeing the glasses.

Case looked around nervously to make sure that no one had seen them take him out. Looking at the others and nodding their heads simultaneously in agreement, they all backed away slowly from the scene of the crime, leaving Logan in the middle of the hallway.

* * *

Mole patrolled the perimeter high on alert, meeting Joshua at the entrance.

"Everything quiet?" he asked gruffly, crushing his cigar under his scaly foot and lighting up another one.

"No," Joshua said, shaking his head. "Baby – baby down the street crying. Doesn't like grocery store. And ordinaries screaming at each other. Pretty – pretty whack."

"Sure, dog boy," Mole said. A flash of movement caught his eye and he raised his rifle. "Who's there?"

Two unnaturally beautiful people blurred in front of him and Mole lowered his rifle slightly.

"You two X5s?" he asked them. They nodded without a word. Their eyes were strangely blank and their posture ramrod straight, so Mole raised his rifle again, suspicious as to their behaviour.

"Turn around and show me your barcode," he ordered. The complied swiftly and lifted their hair, showing him the black lines etched into their skin.

_X5-273 and X5-274,_ he noted. _Twins._

"All right," he said, lowering his rifle completely. "Come on in."

The two transgenics walked through the broken link in the fence and headed toward T.C. As soon as they were out of Mole's sight, they both grinned, and their eyes flashed black before they entered the transgenics' haven.

* * *

"Sam! Thomas!" Biggs shouted happily, walking up to his two former unit mates. "You made it out!"

They stood silently before him and he frowned. "You guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Samantha said. Her voice was colder than usual and the friendliness from her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Where's Max?" Thomas asked.

"I don't know," Biggs said, still a little puzzled. "Probably around here somewhere with Alec."

"Where?" Samantha asked sharply. Biggs took a step away from them and regarded them cautiously.

_I'm being too obvious, _Sam thought. Relaxing her posture, she gave Biggs an apologetic hug. "Sorry. We just miss her."

"Well, she's usually at HQ, so you could look there," he offered helpfully.

"Thanks," Thomas said, matching his sister's tone. They left him without a word and Biggs scratched his head.

_This is a _really_ weird day.

* * *

_

"I just need to get one more shot," Alec said, the camera in his hands. He moved in front of her where she sat with the back of her top zipped open so that he could get access to her runes, and he snapped one more shot of the runes on her collarbone.

"Done." He set the digital camera down on a counter in his room and flipped through the pictures once to make sure that they weren't blurry. "All we have to do now is give these to Dix."

"Okay, I better go then," Max said, trying unsuccessfully to zip up her shirt. "Can you help me?"

He moved behind her and let his hands trail down her back, making her shiver. Instead of zipping up the garment he unzipped it even further, making her half-turn to look at him.

"What are you doing?" she asked him, although she knew quite well what his intentions were.

"You promised later," he reminded her. He fingered her lacy black bra, itching to unclasp it.

"I know I did," she said, resting her head against his stomach. "But… I don't know. It just doesn't seem right to be doing this while there's so much going on. We should be at HQ figuring things out, trying to prepare for the Coming."

"The world will still be broken in the morning," he told her, inadvertently echoing Logan's words from 2 years ago. It was strange how she was almost reliving the moments she had had with Logan, except now with Alec. From the way they danced around each other back at Manticore to their 'we're not like that' phase.

_But Alec didn't keep secrets from me, _she reminded herself. _And Alec understands me. It's not the same._

She gasped as Alec sucked on her shoulder, soft at first and then harder. He rested his hands at the hem of her shirt and then pulled it off in one rapid movement, leaving her torso bare save for her bra. She pulled his head up to kiss him fully on the lips while his hands massaged her back gently. Moving her hands down to his pants, she unbuttoned them just as quickly as he had taken off her shirt and pulled them off, not breaking the kiss throughout. He pulled his own shirt over his head and he smirked at her as she let her hands travel over his chest.

"Can't wait to get down and dirty with me, huh?" not letting a chance to make a sarcastic remark pass him up.

"Shut up," she told him, shimmying out of her own jeans. He helped her and put his lips close to her ear, nibbling lightly.

"As the lady wishes."

Soon enough they made their way onto his bed and he expertly removed her bra from her body and slipped her underwear off. She lay naked under his gaze and settled herself in comfortably.

"Max," he breathed, taking it all in. She pressed herself against him and took off his boxers in the blink of an eye, and pulling the blanket over them she kissed him again, harder this time. His hands roamed her body and she moaned as he moved against her, creating friction between them. His mouth moved away from hers and kissed and sucked her breasts, eliciting moans from her. Her fingernails scratched his back and he continued to touch her everywhere, driving her crazy. He grabbed fistfuls of her hair and she kissed his chest, making little bite marks here and there. His hands dropped lower to massage her insides, and her body jerked in ecstasy.

"Alec," she gasped. "Please."

She wrapped her legs around his body and closed her eyes in pure bliss as he moved himself inside her slowly, his tongue teasing her own as he picked up the pace. Her eyes snapped open, pools of dark desire, and he moved his mouth to her shoulder and bit down hard, drawing blood. She barely felt the pain while she repeated the gesture to him, and then they kissed again, their blood mingling in their mouths. The primal act made Alec pick up the pace, and finally they both climaxed, his body collapsing onto hers.

They stayed there for almost ten minutes before they started to breathe normally again, and he rolled over without removing himself from her, letting Max rest her head on his chest. He touched the mark he had left on her and kissed her sweaty forehead.

"Mine."

"Yours, always."

Minutes later, they both drifted off to sleep in each others arms.

A half hour later, Max's door started to creak open and Logan's voice came through.

"Max?"

* * *

A/N: Dun dun dun… Okay, so the last part was really different and kind of awkward for me to write, even though I tried not to make it _too_ graphic, but I figured I owed all of you wonderful reviewers something, so I hope you liked it. Please review and tell me what you thought about the whole chapter, and whether you liked the MA, totally hated it, or thought it was too soon. I'd love to hear what you think because it's not something I normally write.

I've also already started to write the next chapter, so I'll try to get it out soon. Love ya guys, angelofdarkness78


	30. Impact

A/N: I know, I know. Bad author. Hasn't updated anything in a while. I'm really, really, really sorry, but hey! At least now it's summer. Feedback please!

* * *

"_Mine."_

"_Yours, always."_

_Minutes later, they both drifted off to sleep in each others arms._

_A half hour later, Max's door started to creak open and Logan's voice came through._

"_Max?"_

Logan's hand pushed the door open but froze as he heard someone call his name.

"Logan!" a plump yet attractive woman called out, hustling towards him. His hand rested lightly on the doorknob, the door still ajar, as he waited for the woman to approach him.

"I'm sorry," he said apologetically. "Do I know you?"

The woman tilted her head to the side and gave a wide smile. "I'm Mia."

Logan nodded in a dazed fashion and tilted his head slightly to match the angle of hers. He held out his other hand and shook hers, seeming somewhat entranced.

"Nice to meet you," he said slowly.

"Well, what are you doing here Logan?" Mia asked brightly. Her perkiness wasn't lost on Logan and he shook his head to clear the fog in his mind.

Rubbing his temple, he said, "I was just going to see how Max was doing."

"Oh. Did you two kids have a fight?" she asked.

"I don't really see how any of that is your business," he said as politely as he could.

Mia tilted her head to the side again. "Of course not, but talking about things usually make you feel better, hmm?"

Logan sighed, caught up in her spell once more. "Well, you see, I never told Max that I used to be an acquaintance of her brother Seth, and that he died while on a mission for me. So that's why she's furious at me. I'm here to get her back and explain things better."

"Oh, that's so sweet!" she said delightfully. "Let me just see if she's busy."

"Okay," he said absentmindedly.

Mia pushed the door open, her frame blocking Logan's view. She peeked her head in and her eyes went wide, and then she hastily shut the door.

"Logan, honey, she's not in there, sorry," she said.

"Really?" he asked. "Damn."

"Maybe you could come back another time," Mia suggested.

"Do you think Max and I will get another chance?" he asked.

"You'll have to see what fate has in store," she answered in a roundabout way.

"Right," he said, nodding to himself. He walked off and Mia sighed.

"Poor boy. Once you go transgenic, you never go back," she muttered.

* * *

Max awakened at the sound of voices outside her room, and paused for a moment to listen but heard no more noise. She looked down at the sleeping figure beside her and wiped off a little drool trailing from his mouth. She toyed with his hair as she watched him sleep, and trailed her hand along his chest lazily. Seeing that he wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon, she planted a kiss on his lips and got dressed, figuring she would check on what was happening at headquarters. She scribbled down a note for him, and then took another look at her lover before kissing him again and leaving.

She entered HQ a couple minutes later and observed the bustling going on.

"Hey Alec," Ben called without looking over his shoulder. "Dix found some more info on the comet and it doesn't look good."

"Alec's not here," Max said, frowning in confusion. Ben spun around in bewilderment.

"But you smell just like him," he said, his forehead creasing.

"We were hanging out," she said nonchalantly.

"Oh." Realization struck him and he regarded her sharply. "OH."

"Little slow on the uptake, huh?" an X6 named Sarah remarked. He shot her a look.

"Shouldn't you be doing your hair?" he said rudely. She glared at him and moved away.

"Ben, don't freak out," she pleaded.

"Freak out? That bastard is banging my little sister. I have the right to freak out. Now, where is he?"

"Ben," she repeated. "Calm down. He's your brother."

"Ha! We'll see about that."

"I thought you liked him?" she asked.

"Not anymore," Ben said. He paused to think. "You're too young!"

She looked at him disbelievingly. "I'm 21!"

"Exactly," he answered, seemingly having proven his point.

"He's barely a year older than me!"

"That's a whole 365 days, Maxie."

"You seriously have to get over your overprotective big brother issues," she insisted.

"Why should I? It's a lot of fun bugging you." He was grinning now, and it finally dawned on her that he was just joking around.

"So you're not mad at Alec?" she asked slowly, just to make sure.

"Are you kidding? I'm going to beat him to a bloody pulp when I find him," Ben stated. Max shook her head.

"You're a very complicated person."

"Ain't that the truth."

"Max," Dix interrupted, putting an end to their banter. "There are people here to see you."

She whirled around and stopped in her tracks as she faced the two figures in front of her.

"Sam. Thomas." She grinned at them. "It's great to have the two of you back."

"Hey Max," Sam said, holding out her arms, albeit a little stiffly. Max hugged her and Thomas before stepping back.

"I'm so glad you guys are okay. Not a lot of the unit's here," she said.

"We saw Biggs," Thomas said. His voice lacked warmth but Max paid no attention to it, her joy at seeing them again clouding her senses. Ben looked at him strangely, silently wishing Max would move away from them.

"Yeah," she answered. "He, Mina and Alec are the only ones who've gotten here. I'm a little worried about the rest."

"They're probably fine," Sam said dismissively. This time Max did find that her behaviour was a little odd, and she looked at them more carefully.

"What have you guys been up to?" she asked, steering them out of HQ. She didn't know why but her gut was telling her to get them away. She saw Ben trying to get her attention out of the corner of her eye but ignored him, figuring they would talk later.

"Nothing important," Tom said. _Again with the cold voice, _Max noted. There was definitely something off about them. A feeling of unease settled over her.

"Well, why don't we go into the rec room to catch up," she offered, reaching out to open the door, only to be stopped by Sam snatching her hand and twisting it painfully.

"What the hell is your problem?" Max yelled.

"What are these?" she asked, looking at the runes on her arm. Noticing Max's distrustful look, she relinquished her grip quickly. "Sorry. I was just curious."

Rubbing her arm to get the blood flowing again, Max backed away slightly.

"What's the matter with you guys?" she asked.

"Nothing," Thomas replied. "What's wrong Max?"

"Yeah," Sam continued. "We were just wondering why you're covered in tattoos." She chuckled, however there was no humour in it. "Wouldn't you think a barcode that won't go away is already enough damage to your body?"

"That's something Alec said. He's seriously hating the book written on him," Max said.

"Alec has the runes too?" Thomas inquired, immediately notifying Max of her mistake. "Does it say anything about his part in the Coming?"

Max backed away even further. "I never mentioned anything about the Coming."

Sam shot her twin a look before moving closer to Max. "We heard that anomaly talking about it to Ben in HQ. We were standing there for a couple minutes."

"I don't believe you."

"Come on Max," Sam purred. "We're your friends. What's wrong with you?"

"I could ask you the same question," she retorted. Her hand rested behind her back, ready to snatch up the knife she always kept in her boot if she needed to. "What happened after you escaped?"

Thomas sighed. "She knows. There's no point keeping this up." His eyes flashed black as did Sam's, and as they moved forward Max whipped out her knife and threw it at Sam, her aim deadly. The other woman caught it with one hand and snapped it in half.

_Shit, shit, shit…_ Max thought. She had stupidly backed herself into the rec room and there was currently no one in there.

"We aren't supposed to kill her," Sam reminded her brother. "We were just sent to gather information."

"Still," Thomas argued. "Kill her and the threat is over. She can't interfere with the Coming, and I'm sure that Mr. White will be pleased."

"White?" Max repeated, listening closely to their conversation. "So that's it. He got to you and brainwashed you or something."

"We're not brainwashed," they said simultaneously.

"Gee, where have I heard that one before?" she said to herself, doing a backflip onto a table. They attacked her immediately, with Thomas landing a high kick on her shoulder and Sam following it up with a double punch to the stomach. She fell off of the table and rolled to her feet, taking up a fighting stance. She studied them, looking for weaknesses as all the Manticore soldiers had been trained to do. She saw no obvious ones, until they attacked her again.

_They rely on their strength as twins, _she realized. _Separate them…_

She smacked Sam's head into a table, knocking her out and blurred across the room, stopping Thomas' blow to her head within seconds. She did a cartwheel followed by a back handspring and grabbed a pool stick from the table nearby, jabbing it into his stomach. The movement barely fazed him and he landed an uppercut to her jaw, making her wince in pain. He knocked her to the ground and held up a knife, and for the first time she felt panic. He was stronger than he had been back at Manticore, and it felt almost as if she were battling the Reds again, the only ones who had come close to killing her. She closed her eyes for a blow that never came, and seconds later, she felt the weight of him disappear. A hand appeared in front of her face, offering to help her up and she took it, shock moving through her body when she saw who it was.

She had expected it to be Ben or Alec or any one of her other siblings, but never did she expect it to be the person standing in front of her.

"Thanks," Max said.

"You're welcome." They looked at each other silently for a moment, before Max regained her senses. "We've got to tie them up and get one of the Psy Ops people down here to figure out what the hell happened."

"Why don't you go do that while I keep an eye on them?" the woman suggested.

"You sure?" Max asked.

"I'll be able to handle them, don't worry."

Max nodded in agreement and cast a long look at the woman. "Hey, Brin?"

"Yeah?"

"We miss you," was all Max said before heading off in search of the Psy Ops team. The door closed with a loud clang and Brin sat on top of the pool table, never taking her eyes off the two transgenics.

"I miss you guys too," she said to the room.

* * *

Alec rolled over to wrap his arms around Max only to find that the space was empty. His eyes opened in confusion and for a second he was afraid that it was all a mistake, that Max had regretted what they had done and run off, but his dread was put to rest when he saw the note that she had scribbled. It was then that he saw the people surrounding him.

"Jesus Christ!" he shouted, pulling the covers together around his body. Krit, Ben, Seth and Zane sat in a semi-circle around the bed. "All right," he said wearily. "What have I done wrong now?"

Ben looked pointedly at his clone and Alec rolled his eyes. "Oh, right. There's always the whole thing with your little sister. Let me see. 'Don't hurt her or I'll rip you to shreds.' Uh, 'you'll have to answer to me if you upset her.' Or how about 'I'll kill you if you make her cry.' Is that about it?"

Zane nodded. "Hey, this guy's pretty good. Got all the threats down. Why did you say we needed to come here, Ben? He already knows the big brother speech."

"You know mating's for life, right?" Seth asked.

"Dude, I wasn't born yesterday," Alec said.

"I could argue with that fact," Ben muttered.

"Actually bro, you really couldn't, because he's the same age as you, right?" Krit asked. "This whole clone thing's really cool."

Both Alec and Ben shot him a look and he held up his hands. "Just saying."

"You better treat her right, Alec," Seth warned, getting up to leave.

"You're a broken record, Seth," Alec said. "I love Max. You know that."

Seth nodded at him and the four filed out, but Zane paused at the door.

"And man, get some new boxers," he said, shaking his head.

Alec picked up his boxers, which were blue covered with Spongebob Squarepants.

"Hey! The lady at the pre-pulse store said these were popular!"

* * *

"Hi mommy," Case said, jumping into Tinga's arms.

"Hi sweetie," she said, easily catching him. "Maxie, your mommy's looking for you. But how about you stay with us for now, hmm?"

"Okay," she said. She yawned and promptly fell asleep on the couch. Case's eyes were droopy as well and even Scorch, who normally had a lot of energy, looked sleepy.

"What were you three up to?" Tinga asked. "I hope you didn't make too much trouble."

"No mommy," Case said, and then he too fell asleep.

"Scorch?" Tinga asked as the little boy turned to leave. "You can stay here too, if you want."

"I'm going to find Mina," he announced.

"Okay."

Tinga watched him leave, missing the burning light out of the window.

_It was coming now. Closer, just a little closer…

* * *

_

"You look down," a redhead remarked, sitting down next to Biggs.

"Go away 583," he told her.

"It's Tasmin now. And what if I say I don't want to? You gonna make me?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Well, that sounds like fun. So I guess I'll stick around," she said. She grinned at him flirtatiously but he paid no attention to her.

"I'm not in the mood Tasmin."

"Okay, fine," she relented. "But I actually want to know what's wrong."

"Why do you care?"

"Because you're ruining my day with your brooding face."

"Sorry, then. I'll go brood somewhere else." He stood up, but she yanked him back down.

"I didn't say you had to leave." She sighed. "Look 510 – or is it Biggs now? Manticore always told us that emotions were wrong and bad and that telling other people what's wrong and expressing weakness was even worse. And now look at what that did to us. Being stone cold soldiers severely screwed us up. So, just tell me what's on your mind. Sure, I don't know you that well but we worked together on that mission with the Reds." She reached into the back pocket of her jeans. "Tell you what. I'll even give you a penny for it."

Biggs finally let a smile make its way onto his face. "Hon, with all the thoughts that I have, you're gonna have to give me a dollar."

"Dude, even _you're_ thoughts aren't worth that much."

He leaned closer to her. "Well, 839? Mina? She's a bitch."

"And in boy-speak it means that you're head over heels in love with her," Tasmin clarified. "Got it."

"And there's this guy always hanging around – "

"Strings attached. Okeedokee."

"And I don't know what he is to her – "

"Jealousy issues. Check."

"You're very strange," he said to her.

"I get that a lot."

* * *

"Hey, have you seen Max?" Mina asked an X6 named Dalton. He shook his head and moved along.

_I need to tell her about who I am. Damn, is she going to be surprised. _

"Hey! Uh… You're Max's friend. Do you know where she is?"

She narrowed her eyes at the man. "Who are you?"

"Oh, right. Logan Cale." He held out his hand. "We've never met but I've seen you around with Max."

"Logan." _So this is the guy that lied to her. _Her guard instantly went up.

"Why do you want to see her?"

"Why is everyone asking me that? Can't I just come to say hi?" he asked.

"Not after what you did."

"Which is why I'm here," he pressed on. "I want to apologize. But I can't do that unless you tell me where she is."

"I can't find her either," she admitted reluctantly. "I've been checking a couple rooms."

"Like Alec's?" Logan said darkly.

She ignored his comment and opened the door to the newest rec room that had been created just the week before. There was another across TC that she figured she would check if Max wasn't here.

Mina opened the door and her breath caught in her throat. Biggs sat close to a gorgeous redhead with milky white skin, and they seemed to be talking intimately, if their position was any indication. He was smiling at the things she said, and Mina felt anger flare up in her until she realized how hypocritical she was being. She had always imagined feeling happy if Biggs got over his thing for her, because then it would make everything with Jay easier. But now, all she felt was sadness and regret. She shut the door softly.

"Is she in there?" Logan asked.

"No," she said quietly. "I have to go."

She rapidly walked away from him so that he wouldn't see the tears forming in her eyes.

_Well, I got what I wanted. It's over. I don't have to choose anymore.

* * *

_

"Yo," Wylie said, stopping her skateboard beside Seth. "What's the haps?"

"What's the haps?" Seth echoed.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm trying out different ways to speak. That refined way they made us talk at Manticore was bugging me. I was just helping out the training with the X6s, and well – you know – they haven't had Common Verbal Usage yet because they were too young, and the way they spoke was creepy. They were all like, 'Yes, ma'am' and 'I was going to do this, ma'am'…" She shivered. "Très irritating."

"Do you babble a lot?" he asked.

"On occasion."

"I noticed."

"So, prank-boy, what was the best trick you ever did?" she asked him.

"Got a couple," he said. "Back at Manticore, my brothers and I put laxatives in the trainers' – "

"That's old school and way amateur," she interrupted.

"All right. If you're so good then why don't you tell me your best?"

"Because I don't want you to steal my idea. I could always give you a demo though. Interested?"

"In getting some part of my body broken?" he asked. "No thanks."

Wylie opened her mouth to offer some sort of comeback but she was interrupted by yells coming from outside. Without even pausing they ran outside.

* * *

"What's that?" Max asked, having returned to the rec room with Mia. "That's sounds like Mole yelling," she said cocking her head to the side. She and Brin blurred outside where there was already a large crowd of anomalies and transgenics gathered there. Max spotted Mina, Jondy and Alec off to the corner and ran to join them.

"What's going on?" she asked. Jondy raised a hand to the sky in response, and it was then that Max noticed everyone was staring at the sky. Her hands went clammy when she saw the brilliant light torpedoing towards the earth at lightening speed.

"No, this is all wrong. It's a week early! This isn't happening," Max said frantically. "Why the hell is it a week early?"

No one had time to answer. In a mixture of awe, fascination and horror, they watched as the burning star made its way closer, closer…

The comet hit.

For a second, there was only silence. Then there was a deafening explosion and the star exploded like fireworks on the fourth of July. Burning red lights lit up the night and dropped toward the city. The transgenics ran back towards Terminal City except Max who stood transfixed in the middle of the chaos. Off in the distance, she could hear ordinaries screaming at the strange phenomenon, and even as Alec tried to tug her back Max stood there.

It happened.

The Coming had finally arrived.

* * *

A/N: Did you guys like this chapter? I hope so. I know it's been a while since I've updated, and for all those waiting for an update of "Evalasting Trouble" it will come. I've just been extremely busy with a week of dance shows, and then my graduation. I'm also going on vacation in two weeks, but I promise to update some more before then.

Please give me feedback and tell me what you think about the Coming, the characters… whatever. :) I'd love to hear anything you've got to say, negative or positive. angelofdarkness78


	31. One or the Other

A/N: I'm sorry about the lack of updates, but I went to the Philippines for a month for my 14th birthday, and I just got over the tremendous jet lag. Anyways, this fic is going to wrapping up soon. Maybe 3 more chapters at the most. Hope you like this chapter and please give me some feedback!

&&&& &&&&&&&&&

Max stormed into Terminal City's headquarters, cursing her enhanced abilities for being able to pick up the sounds of coughing and screaming coming from the Ordinaries. Her mind was racing frantically, trying to make some sense of the situation she had been dealt. She was vaguely aware of Alec being hot on her heels.

_The Coming's a week early, and we aren't prepared._

However, as she raced into the control room, she knew the predicament was ten times worse than what she had imagined. For one thing, the grave expression on Dix's face made her shiver, and for another…

An old man she could only presume was Sandeman was standing beside him.

The elderly man's face lit up as he recognized her.

"Max," he rasped, in a soft but nevertheless still strong voice. "My God. Look at the beautiful young woman you've turned into. I could never have designed you better."

Max's body stiffened and she didn't move as Sandeman came close and wrapped his frail arms around her, eliciting a memory that had long since been forgotten.

_Flashback_

_A little girl, about 2, stood waiting, waiting for someone to come. Quiet, just standing while silently observing the furnishings of the place she was in, she looked up as a man came into the room and picked her up. _

"_There she is," he muttered, patting her head softly. "There she is. My little one. My special little one."_

_End Flashback_

As he let go, she moved back and studied his face. Though the memory was like a distant dream she could barely hold onto, the face of the man molded into the lined one that stood before her, and she knew without a doubt that he was the same man from her dream. Sandeman looked her over proudly and then his eyes shifted to Alec, who was standing close behind Max. Sandeman's eyes widened but he made no comment.

"We were looking for you," she told him. "How did you manage to evade us?"

Sandeman chuckled. "I may be old, my dear, but I created you. All of you. I know how you think. It wasn't hard to stay under the radar until it was time."

"Joshua misses you," she said. "He said you came to see him at Manticore."

"Joshua," Sandeman said fondly. "Yes, I did see him."

"You told him to get trained by me and to train the others," she said. "Why?"

"To fight, of course," he responded.

"The Coming?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "You can't fight the Coming. It's not a person or a thing. It's something you can't control, but we can stop it." He paused. "Well, I suppose the correct thing to say is that _you_ can stop it. No, what I meant, is that everyone had to prepare to fight the Familiars, which is why you all have to band together: the Anomalies, the X series, the IT Concentrates, the Psy Ops group, the Aquatic, Desert and Artic groups…"

"Those Familiars? Why would they want to fight us? I mean, they've won already. The Coming's here. We thought it was coming _next_ week. So they should be happy and rejoicing and 'inheriting the earth'. At least, that's how your son put it."

"Ames," Sandeman said sadly, his eyes hazing over. "It's my fault that he's that way. I should have gotten away from the cult earlier, before they had corrupted him." He blinked, and then his eyes were crystal clear again and serious.

"The Familiars haven't won yet. Yes, the Coming is upon us, but only the weakest of the humans will die immediately. For most, they will be seriously ill for a couple of days, and then they will die. As crazy as they may be, they certainly aren't stupid. They know that since most of the humans won't die for a couple of days, that you still have a chance to cure them."

"With my blood," she stated blankly.

"With your blood," he agreed. "You were a mistake – a good one – that I never foresaw. You were supposed to be like all the other transgenics; basically immune to the toxin, but you'd still get sick. However, when I was creating you, I put too much of one chemical and that is why you're different."

"Lucky me," she murmured. "I've barely been managing to take care of myself for the past few years, and now I'm supposed to save the world?" She was starting to get angry. "You can't just dump this shit-load of responsibility on me!"

"I understand how you feel, Max, but – "

"You do? Really?" she said sarcastically. "You created us. So why don't you just tweak your blood a little bit, and then _you_ can save the frickin' world."

Alec moved closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder, but otherwise made no sound.

"It was prophesized, long before I was even born, Max, that you were to be the one to save them. This is how it was meant to be." He nodded at Dix, who was listening silently. "Tell her what the runes say."

Dix shuffled through his translation papers, finally finding the one he was looking for. His eyes scanned the page until they rested on a small paragraph at the bottom.

"On the night of the eclipse, the earth shall see the beginning of the end. The meek shall be plagued by sickness and death for three days, until the One finds the strength within her to deliver the meek to the light, where they shall inherit the earth. But on that third night, the night of the full moon, the One shall have to purify the world, rid it of its evil, and ultimately sacrifice herself. Unless – "

"Thank you, Dix," Sandeman interrupted. Dix looked at him with a confused expression on his face, but the old man met him with a stare that told him to say no more.

"Eclipses, full moons, purifications… this all sounds like crap out of a cheesy pre-Pulse fantasy flick," Max said.

"I'm not lying, Max. You've seen for yourself what's happened already, with the Comet and the Familiars. It doesn't matter how incredible it seems, or how 'cheesy', as you put it, it's real, very real."

"What's this about a purification of evil and sacrifice?"

"Your blood can save the humans, yes, but the Comet's already hit. And everything it touches, becomes toxic. Basically, the whole entire world is covered in acid that you can't see, and if the purification is not done, people will never be able to leave their homes because if they step outside, they'll get sick. You think that this place, Terminal City, is dangerous for the humans? The whole world is already like this, times a hundred."

Sandeman paused, to recover his breath. The old man was visibly getting tired from talking so much.

"The ritual is in Ancient Minoan, the same language your runes are written in. The incantation you have to do was also written in the runes, and Dix here has it here. But I'm afraid that – "

"The ritual will kill me," Max stated. "Right? That's what you meant by sacrifice. By sacrificing myself, the humans will live." Her hand was trembling, but she clenched her fist and dug her nails into the soft skin on her palm to keep herself from losing it. By this time, everyone in HQ was silent, and she it was then that she noticed that her siblings were all standing around her in a protective circle, Ben and her brother Krit on either side of her. Alec was still behind her with a hand on her shoulder. He was being oddly silent, something which Max didn't pick up.

"Am I right?" she asked, raising her voice. Sandeman's eyes were downcast, and that confirmed her guess, but she still needed to hear him say it, to make it real. Right now, she felt like she was trapped in a bad nightmare that was never-ending.

"Yes. The sacrifice will be your life."

The nightmare came true.

All of a sudden, the silence that had dominated the room vanished, as everyone started yelling in anger and frustration at once.

"This is horseshit!"

"No way are we sacrificing one of our own for some ordinaries!"

"The humans have been trying to kill us! They hate us! Why save them?"

"We don't need them! Let them die!"

Even Max's siblings joined the frenzy.

"Fuck this! It's ridiculous! Max isn't going to be doing any _sacrificing_," Krit shouted.

"My baby sister is not going to die for a bunch of ordinaries who don't give a crap about her!" Ben yelled.

Max barely felt Jondy clutch her arm protectively, as her whole body was numb. With all the information running through her mind, the ability to parallel process and multitask seemed useless.

_They've got a point, _Max deliberated. _The ordinaries have done nothing but try to hurt us. Why should we save them?_

A moment later, she felt instantly guilty and horrible for her thoughts.

_They don't know us, _she argued. She thought of Original Cindy, Sketchy, Logan, Sky, Herbal, wherever he was and hell, even Normal. She couldn't let them die. _Original Cindy accepted me because she knew me. Maybe the ordinaries can too. Maybe… maybe if I do sacrifice myself, it'll secure the rest of the transgenics a place in the world, where they can live without judgment because a transgenic saved the humans. I won't just be saving the humans, but my people too. They're my responsibility; they're out here in this world where no one wants them because of me._

When she came out of her thoughts, the racket hadn't lessened a bit. Sandeman was standing hopelessly in front of her while Dix shook his head and the rest of the transgenics yelled across the room. Making her decision, she put her fingers to her lips and whistled loudly. The noise died down immediately as if she held a remote control and pressed mute.

Looking at each face in the room individually, she felt a surge of pride. Anomalies stood with X series and Psy Ops soldiers, the reservations they use to hold for each other seemingly long gone. And the fact that they were all arguing over what she should do because they cared… well, that was one feeling that she was always going to remember.

"Thank you for your concern – "

"We aren't concerned," Mole said gruffly. He took a long drag of his cigar. "We just – we don't want to see a transgenic die 'cause of those ordinaries."

It was obvious to her that he didn't want to risk his rep for being a hard-ass, so Max wasn't offended in the least.

"However," she continued, "the decision I will make will be up to me. And – " She took a deep breath. Strangely, she wasn't scared at all, only sad. Sad that she wasn't going to be able to ring in the New Year with the rest of them, sad that she wouldn't be able to have a whole new life with her friends, family… with Alec. That's what saddened her most. It was almost ironic really, the way her relationship with Alec paralleled the one with Logan. She had danced around with Logan for a year, and then all the lies he had fed her surfaced. She danced around with Alec for a year, and now this. It seemed she was doomed when it came to love, and having a normal life.

_But then, _she thought, _I was born special, so normal's kind of impossible._ _But you know what? _She looked at all the faces again, not recognizing most of them, but that was okay. No matter who they were, they were her family. _I wouldn't want to be normal for anything._

"We can't let the ordinaries die," she said, finishing her sentence. Before the uproar could start, she held up a hand. "If we do," she continued, "what would that make us? We'd be stooping down to their level, and proving that we're the monsters that they think we are. No one deserves to die, not even them. Yes, they treat like us crap. Yes, they beat us down. And yes, they want us dead. But the thing is, they don't know us at all. They don't know shit about who we really are, and that all we really want is a life, one where we're not being hunted down. Many of you know my friend Original Cindy. She's an ordinary, and you know what? Even though she knows what I am, she still sticks by my side, and she's had my back for years. I trust her with my life."

"That's one of millions!" someone shouted. "So one of the ordinaries is alright. So what?"

"My point is," Max said, ignoring the interruption, "if one of them can come around to see our side, why can't others? They aren't the real enemy. The Familiars are. They're the ones who fed the humans false information that we're monsters. If we can band together ourselves, then why can't we band together with the ordinaries?"

"You," she said, pointing to an anomaly. "We use to be terrified of you guys. You were our worst nightmare come true. To spend a night in the basement was like ultimate torture. And now look." She pointed to an X5 standing next to the anomaly. "You guys are standing right next to each other, and nobody's screaming. And you," she said, continuing, pointing to a Psy Ops soldier. "You guys were considered the freaks of Manticore. No one wanted to be around you guys because we were scared shitless that you would read our minds and report back to the Director if we were thinking about something insubordinate. And now no one gives a damn. You're standing in a room with more than 30 people – yes, people – and is anyone moving away from you?"

"That's different. We can't stick together with the ordinaries," an X4 pointed out. "We're apples, they're oranges."

"They're both fruit," Max countered.

"What about the Familiars?" someone else pitched in. "What are they, bad apples? That's still fruit. And we have more in common with them. They have enhanced abilities. Maybe they have the right idea in wiping out the humans."

"Who said that?" Max asked.

A young man – an X6 – stepped forward.

"You're an idiot," Max stated. "They want to kill us as much as they want to kill the ordinaries. The only problem is, we're just as immune to the toxin as they are. So if the ordinaries die, it's us against them. It'll be a war, and since we're basically evenly matched against them, it'll be never-ending. Which option do you think is better for us?"

The young man remained silent.

"I say we save them, even if – " she gulped, forcing the words out. "Even if I have to die in the process, which is something I'm willing to do, even at the expense of everyone I'll be losing." She felt wetness on her face, but she didn't care if they saw her tears. The moment wasn't about concealing their emotions; they were her family, every single one of them, and she felt just fine crying in front of them.

She held up a fist in the air, which she forced herself to make look strong and confident.

"Who's with me?"

For a second she thought nobody would agree, until a couple fists hesitantly made their way into the air. Encouraged by others, more put their fists up, and this continued until almost everyone had their fists in the air. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw some of her siblings shaking their heads tearfully, reluctantly raising their fists. Looking at Alec, she noticed for the first time that he seemed to be in another world entirely, and he was only staring at her intently without saying a word. Shaking off the strange feeling, she looked out the door from the room, and she saw masses of transgenics standing outside with their fists raised.

"Right on," she whispered.

"Umm, I hate to break up this moment," Biggs interrupted, squeezing through the door into HQ. "But, we've got some Christmas carolers outside who don't really seem to be in the holiday spirit."

Frowning, Max shoved through the crowds to get to the window and her breath caught. Standing outside was Ames White with a malevolent look on his face.

And standing behind him was hundred of other Familiars.

"All right everybody," she announced. "This is it. This is what we have been training for." She turned to face everyone and started giving out orders, and finally the room started emptying as various groups went to retrieve their weapons. She walked over to Sandeman once everyone except she, Alec and Dix had left.

"How are we going to get my blood to everyone in time?" she asked.

"I have a group of scientists working for me that can duplicate your blood and send it out across the world. But the duplication process is extremely delicate and takes a while," he answered.

"How long?" she pressed.

"Remember, we need to make enough for the whole world. That's no easy feat. If we don't duplicate it properly it won't work."

"How long?" she asked again.

"Well, with the number of scientists I have and the amount of equipment, it can take a day and a half minimum."

"Minimum! These people could start dying immediately!"

"We're doing our best. I just need a sample of your blood," he said, taking the needle that Dix offered. She held out her arm and a minute later it was done.

"Just promise me, that my friends get cured first, okay?" Max asked. She wrote down a list of names and handed it to him. She ran a hand through her locks tiredly.

"You should rest," Sandeman suggested.

"Rest?" she said incredulously. "Are you kidding? I need to get out there!"

"You seem to forget that you're the key to saving the – "

"Entire human race," Max finished. "Yeah, I know."

"And if you get hurt, then all is lost."

"I can't just sit around while this is all happening. Besides, Alec has my back." She gestured to her lover. "Right?"

"You know I do," he said, not taking his eyes off of Sandeman.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "You're acting weird."

"It's just a lot to take in," he said, forcing a smile.

"We better get out there," she said.

"Yeah, just give me a couple minutes. I need to get my weapons," he said. "I'll meet you out there."

"Okay."

Alec pressed a kiss to her lips before she left, and then he turned to face Sandeman.

"I know you."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Max hurried around the weapons room, shoving grenades in her backpack along with numerous other arms. She was about to leave when she came to a stop in front of a TK-47 strapped to the wall.

_I can't – _

She remembered Eva getting shot by one. Even though Eva was alive, it did nothing to rid her hatred for guns.

_Now's not the time to get squeamish,_ she thought, grabbing the gun. Her hands shook as she held it, but she faced a target on the wall and let out a few shots. Each bullet pierced straight through the bull's eye in rapid succession, creating what looked like one hole.

_Still good at using this thing._

Lugging the backpack over her shoulders, she stepped into the halls but was confronted by a coughing man.

"Oh my God," she breathed.

"Max," Logan said, coughing some more. His forehead had broken out in sweat. "What's wrong with me? Help me."

Pursing her lips, she grabbed his arm and put it around her shoulders, her left arm supporting his waist.

"Don't worry Logan," she said. "It's going to be okay. I promise."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"You never mentioned why I got the runes too," Alec said.

"I didn't want to in front of Max," Sandeman replied.

"So? What gives?"

"Finish reading the rest of the prophecy, Dix," Sandeman instructed him.

"But on that third night, the night of the full moon, the One shall have to purify the world, rid it of its evil, and ultimately sacrifice herself. Unless the Other should decide to take her place."

"The Other?"

"That's you," Sandeman said.

"I kind of got that, thanks," Alec said sarcastically. "What the hell does that mean is what I'm wondering."

"When I found out that Max was the One, the one totally immune to the toxin, naturally I wanted to make all transgenics completely immune, like her. So I studied her bloodwork and created you."

"If I'm totally immune, then is Ben too?"

"No," Sandeman answered. "See, I would've made everyone immune, but by that time I had to run aground because the cult was hunting me down. You were created to be Max's out, in a way. If anything were ever to happen to her or if she couldn't handle it, you would be there to take her place. But I had to hide you. The cult already knew that there was a prophecy about the One. But they didn't have the real prophecy. I did. They had no idea there were two of you. But in case they ever found out, I knew they would never study the clones to see if they were it, because the clones would just be a copy of the real thing. If they were ever looking for the Other, they'd study Ben. They'd never think that a copy of himself would have something that he didn't, which was no junk DNA."

"So you have a choice," Sandeman offered. "Max is ready to do this herself. But you can save her life – take her place. Give up your own life for hers."

"You know I'd never let anything happen to Max," he said in way of answering.

"I know, my boy. I know."

"Does this ritual… can you tell me how to do it?" he asked.

"When the times comes. But for the moment being, you need to be with Max, don't you think?"

Alec nodded and turned to leave, but not before saying one last thing.

"Max hears nothing of this, understand? No one tells her anything."

As the door closed behind him, Dix turned to Sandeman.

"Shouldn't we have told him about – "

"No," Sandeman said decisively. "They need to focus right now. As for me, I need to get this blood to the lab."

"Yes Sir," Dix responded.

"Neither Alec nor Max can know about what you've learned, do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_Where the hell is Alec?_ Max thought, punching a Familiar in the face and stumbling back as his fist landed a hit to her shoulder. She rolled over to escape an assault from his feet and swept his legs out from under him, following up with several kicks to his groin, making him shriek in pain.

"I knew that you had to feel pain _there_," she said cockily. She snapped his neck quickly before the Familiar had a chance to respond.

"452."

She tensed and faced the devil incarnate.

"Hey Whitey," she said jovially. "Nice night, huh? But your ugly face kinda ruins the atmosphere."

In response, his arm snatched out with inhuman reflexes and snapped a nearby transgenic's neck. Max's eyes flared with anger as she watched the young boy – an X6 – fall to the ground.

"Bastard," she said, brandishing a knife. "You're going to pay for that."

She launched herself at him and he sidestepped as she had expected, so at the last moment she lashed out a vicious kick to his side, catching him off guard. Grunting in rage, his hands and feet became a flurry of punches and kicks, which she barely managed to counter. She landed several punches to his abdomen but he barely flinched, and instead he sent her flying in the air.

_Fuck, _she thought as she checked her wounds. Her mouth was bleeding and she thought she had broken a rib or two. _We'd be evenly matched if the motherfucker could feel pain. _

"Had enough, 452?"

"For the last time," she ground out, getting to her feet, "it's Max. Or is your stupid brain too small to store that little piece of knowledge? Or maybe it's already jam packed with your eccentric rituals and spells and potions. I could _so_ see you riding around on a broomstick cackling."

She did a back flip to avoid his attack and landed smoothly.

"You know what I think? I think all of this is a cry for attention because your daddy didn't pay attention to you when you were a kid. Am I right? Poor Whitey couldn't get daddy to care about the new loony ritual he learned in I Wanna Be A Freak 101, so he has to take over the world."

A vein throbbed in White's head and she knew she hit the truth dead on.

"That sorry excuse for a man is not my father, and I never needed him, nor have I cared about him."

"Gee," Max said, doing a cartwheel and knocking him over, using his rage to her advantage, "and I thought _I_ had denial issues."

She risked a small glance to see how everyone else was faring, and the horrible feeling that they were on the losing side made its way into her body. The ground was littered with bodies of Familiars and Transgenics alike, but it was obvious that the fact that the Familiars couldn't feel pain was turning the fight in their favor.

Max winced as a hard blow caught the side of her head, berating herself for not keeping her head in the game.

"This is it, 452," White said, pointing a pistol at her and shooting her shoulder for fun, watching the blood flow out in satisfaction. Max grit her teeth against the pain.

_Alec, where are you?_

"It's been fun, but all good things come to an end, as you know," he said. This time his gun was aimed at her heart.

"White!" she heard someone shout. "The dumbass military is on its way! Kill her and let's get out of here. We don't want to deal with them while we should be celebrating."

"Sorry, 452, I have to go," White said. "Hope you enjoy the afterlife."

She winced when she heard a shot ring out but the next thing she saw was White crumpling to the ground, swearing profusely while clutching his leg. He reached for the gun, but another Familiar grabbed him and lifted him up.

"No!" White shouted. "We have to kill her! She could screw this whole thing up!"

Nodding, the other Familiar whipped out his own gun, but someone – she didn't know who – shot the man in the head, and Max closed her eyes against the gruesome sight.

A third Familiar grabbed White and ran out of Terminal City, but not before getting shot in the arm.

"We'll just let the military kill her," she heard him say. "Just leave it White."

Pushing herself up with her one good arm, she looked up into the face of her savior. All the air rushed out of her lungs and for a moment she thought that she was seeing things from blood loss. She closed her eyes, cleared her head, and opened them.

He was still there.

"Zack?"

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A/N: Did everybody like this chapter? I know there wasn't any MA, but this was more the explanation chapter. I hope it wasn't too boring. Feedback is really appreciated because I would love to know what you thought of how I explained the Coming and Alec's runes.

Thanks everyone! angelofdarkness78


	32. Loving and Losing

A/N: Hey guys, look who's back from the dead! I'm really sorry it's taken me so long to update. Things have just been really hectic with high school. Hope this chapter makes up for it:) Please give me some feedback!

* * *

_Pushing herself up with her one good arm, she looked up into the face of her savior. All the air rushed out of her lungs and for a moment she thought that she was seeing things from blood loss. She closed her eyes, cleared her head, and opened them._

_He was still there._

"_Zack?"_

His familiar face loomed above hers, his usual guarded look put in place. Max had never thought she had seen a more incredible thing in her life, and as she took the offered hand to help her up, she couldn't help but stare in wonder. Of their own volition, her hands touched the side of his face, as if wanting to reassure themselves that he was real, that he wasn't just a figment of her imagination that she had conjured up. He flinched slightly at the contact, but otherwise made no move to stop her.

"Zack?" she repeated. Her eyes scanned his face, remembering the defiant jut of his jaw and the confident look in his eyes that were currently staring back at her. "Big brother?"

His eyes flickered and attempted to hide a flash of pain. Finally he spoke. "Maxie. You're safe."

She turned her head to survey her surroundings, feeling her heart twinge at the sight of so much death. Her delicate ears picked up the sounds of cars screeching outside of the fence, knowing the military was near. Then she turned back to face him.

"Yes, I'm safe." _But so many are dead._

"I was looking for you for a long time. Everything was dark. But I found you," he said.

Her relief of having Zack back dissipated quickly. Everything was wrong. So, so wrong. The illusion that he was the same strong brother that had taken care of her before the raid on Manticore shattered, leaving behind only a shadow of what he had been. His tone was lost, needy. Even as a child, Zack's voice resonated strength and certainty. To see him like this broke her – no, his – heart.

"Yes, you found me." Her voice cracked, and she felt a sense of loss despite knowing that he was still alive. _He'll never be the same. He'll never be the all-knowing, irritating Zack. And it's all my fault. _

"Max!"

A voice tore her out of her thoughts and she whirled around to see Alec running towards her. Sensing a threat, Zack stepped in front of her and Alec froze in his tracks.

"Who are you?" he growled.

"Easy there tiger," Alec said, putting up his hands. Nodding to Max, he said, "I'm guessing by the attitude problem that he's another one of your long-lost siblings. Question – do all of them have issues with me?"

"Who are you?" Zack asked again, more insistently. His fists were clenched, ready to start swinging punches at any second. Max put one hand on his shoulder and lowered his fists with the other.

"It's okay. He's not a threat," she told him.

"You look like someone I know." His eyes narrowed as something fell into place. "You look like Ben," Zack accused. "But Ben's dead."

"Actually," Alec said, raising a finger, "he's not." He held out a hand for Zack to shake. "I'm Alec. Your sister's mate."

Max cringed as she watched Zack's whole body tense up. _Great going, Alec. Are you deliberately trying to get yourself killed?_

"He's your what?" Zack ground out.

"Her mate," Alec answered, stepping closer and dropping his hand. "You know, her life-partner, her boyfriend…" He cracked a mischievous grin. "Her love toy."

Max could see the barely restrained anger in Zack's face and decided it would be a good time to change the subject to something more important before he chose to rip Alec to shreds. Casting a furious glare Alec's way, she gently tugged on Zack's arm.

"We have to go inside, where it's safe. We can't stay out here."

Zack followed her gaze to the dead bodies around them, then to the remaining transgenics standing about, nursing their wounds. "How did they get out?"

"I'll tell you after, but right now we have to get inside. The Familiars are going to be back once they've had time to regroup. Please Zack, don't argue with me now."

Sensing his oncoming objection, Alec held up his hand. "Seriously man, don't argue with her. A, you're not going to get your way. B, you're going to get bruised."

His lips set in a tight line, Zack said nothing. He followed Max silently, the other transgenics re-entering the building at her indication. Alec paused for a moment, a sight just outside the fence capturing his attention. He watched as the ordinary soldiers, standing strong and armed only minutes ago, began to cough and double over. One dropped his gun and fell to the ground, his body shuddering. Another leaned against Terminal City's fence, clawing at his throat for air.

_The meek shall be plagued by sickness and death for three days, until the One finds the strength within her to deliver the meek into the light, where they shall inherit the earth. But on that third night, the night of the full moon, the One shall have to purify the world, rid it of its evil, and ultimately sacrifice herself._

He remembered what Dix and Sandeman had said. The ritual had to be done on the third night, which meant that in the next 48 hours, people would die and there was nothing he could do about it. Sandeman had said it would take a day and a half at least to duplicate Max's blood.

_That's going to take too long, _he thought. He stood rooted to the spot and continued to watch in sick fascination, his body not moving an inch.

"Hey man."

Alec didn't even have to turn around to know who it was.

"What do you want?"

"There has to be another way."

Frowning at the strange remark, he faced his mirror image.

"What are you talking about?"

Hazel eyes bore into the other's. Ben's face was completely serious, without a trace of humour within miles.

"I remembered that there were some grenades in HQ that an X6 had brought back from Koreatown, so I doubled back after everyone had filed out."

"You heard what Sandeman said," Alec stated.

"Our lives are messed up bro," Ben said, watching the same scene Alec himself had been staring at just before. "Even when we were kids, I knew that. But this… this stuff is intense. I never thought things could get so out of control."

"I have to save Max." Alec looked Ben dead in the eye. "You know that."

"I know, but there's got to be another way."

Alec smirked. "Is that concern I'm sensing?"

Ben matched his look. "Don't even dream of it, dude. I'm just saying the loss of my beautiful self to the world would be a tragedy." He started heading towards the building, and Alec followed.

"Man, you have some serious self-absorbed problems."

They walked in silence and just before they entered TC, while he had the chance to hide his face in the obscurity, Ben spoke softly, not looking at Alec. His voice was so low that Alec had to strain to hear him.

"After all, we're family."

* * *

Dawn came and went and came again. Sickness and moans filled the air. The military was no longer a threat to any of the transgenics; they lay scattered on the ground outside the Terminal City fence, none yet dead but all of them too unwell to move. Still, at Max's command a sentry stood on the inside of the fence and watched them, as well as looked out for the return of the Familiars. The city had an odd stillness to it. The streets were empty for the most part, and no one was at the coffee shops or stores. It seemed as if Seattle had become a ghost town. 

Sitting in a chair in Med Bay, Max watched the red liquid transfer from her arm to the individual lying unconscious next to her. It fascinated her that that liquid could be the difference between life and death.

_It's all about blood, _she realized. _It's what keeps people alive. Except my blood can save the whole world._

While transfusing Logan, she started to get lightheaded and her eyes begged to close, but she didn't allow herself to sleep. She needed to be alert for anything, and she especially needed to think about the upcoming ritual that night. The night of the full moon.

_I feel like I'm living a bad pre-pulse horror film, _she thought. _I can't believe that tonight, this will all be over. One way or another, it's gonna be over. Everything will change. Except I won't be here._

A hand placed itself gently on her shoulder, and she leaned into the comforting body behind her. He started to massage her back, somewhat releasing the tension from her body.

"How's he doing?"

"Dix said he should be fine in a couple hours," she replied.

"How're you doing?"

She was ready to say that she was fine, like always, but her impending death stopped her. This was her mate. This was her only chance to come clean about how she felt, without the recriminations or denials, without the fear that she would be rejected and left alone like she had been most of her life.

"Not so good," she said honestly.

Alec kissed her neck, and then sat down beside her and wrapped his arms around her body. Her head was wedged in the corner between his arm and shoulder, and the warmth radiating from his body was making her want to drift off to sleep in his arms, feeling safe. For once, Alec wasn't speaking, just holding her tightly as if he would never get the chance to do so again.

"Alec?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you." She made sure she was looking straight at him while she said it, so that he knew she meant it.

"I love you too, Max." _I'm not going to lose you. No matter what. Even… even if I can't be with you. I lost Rachel. I won't lose you too._

* * *

"I still don't like him," Zack said, frowning as he looked in on the tender scene. 

"Of course you don't, bro. But then again, you never really were a people person," Zane said. He paused thoughtfully. "You didn't get along great with other people. And you were anal about staying on the DL. You also were really irritating when you – "

"And you call yourself my brother?" Zack interrupted crossly.

Zane patted him on the back. "'Course, dude. You liked me the most out of our brothers. Which is why you always agreed with me on things and thought I was a responsible young man."

Zack raised his eyebrows doubtfully. "Why do I not believe you?"

Seth chuckled lightly, catching the end of their conversation. "Try to take advantage of his memory loss as much as you want Zane, but he's still Zack and knows when you're bullshitting."

Zane grinned good-naturedly. "Thought it might get him off my case when he starts to remember all the trouble I caused."

"So, how's the happy couple?" Seth asked. Zack frowning, trembled a bit as an old memory assaulted him.

"_How's the happy couple?" Logan asked, nodding towards Tinga and Charlie._

"_They'll get over it," Max replied. "At least they're together now."_

"Not so happy," Zane replied. Looking at Zack, he gave him a reassuring look. "Alec's a good guy. Don't worry. Actually, he's a lot like Ben."

Seth rolled his eyes at the last remark. "Do you want him to like Alec or not?"

"Who's that?" Zack interrupted. The other two men looked over to see a tall brunette limping towards them. Seth's heart plummeted.

"Wylie! What's wrong?"

"Feel like crap is all." She coughed. "I don't know how the ordinaries deal with being sick on a monthly basis."

"Sandeman said that none of us except Max was completely immune to the toxin," Zane said. "He said a lot of us will probably get sick, but not die."

"Then I'll be okay in a couple of days, right?" Wylie looked between the men. "Right?"

"We should get Max to transfuse her, just in case," Seth said, attempting to pull Wylie inside. Zane's arm stopped him.

"Max is really tired, Seth. She already gave a lot of blood to Logan."

"Max can handle giving a lot of blood at the time, Zane. Back off."

"It wouldn't be fair to transfuse Wylie and not the other sick transgenics," Zane protested. "Look, I don't want to be the bad guy – "

"Then don't!"

"Guys, I'll be okay." She coughed. "It's not that bad."

Seeing that his brother wasn't going to back down, Zane sighed. "At least give Max a couple of hours so that she can regenerate the blood she lost, okay?"

"Fine," Seth said, giving in. He took Wylie's hand. "I'll walk you to your room where you can get some rest."

He disappeared around the corner.

_She's pretty sick, _Zane thought. _If she's like this, then some of the Familiars will be too. Then again, they can't feel pain. So how are we gonna be able to fight them?_

* * *

White's teeth clenched as another Familiar pulled a bullet out of his leg and placed it on the table beside them. His fists clenched – not in pain, but in fury. 

_I was so close to killing her! So close! That bitch isn't going to ruin our future. The future of my son._

"White!" a sharp voice called. The blood inside White's body froze over. He would never admit it, but this was the one man in the entire world who scared the shit out of him.

"Sir," White answered, standing to attention and cursing inwardly as his injured leg threatened to collapse on him.

"We need to attack again, wipe out the threat before she can ruin our plans," the man said. "The military can't do anything to stop us so it's our ball."

"I understand, Sir," White replied. "I'll get the teams together."

The man stared at him coldly, and said one last thing before turning away.

"White?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"The elimination of 452 is paramount in order for us to take over. If you come back to me without her dead body…"

"I understand, Sir."

"You better, Ames. For your own future."

* * *

Mina sat still as another X5 pulled the needle out of her arm, feeling slightly dizzy as she stood up to put on her jacket. 

"Thanks 839." The badly wounded transgenic lying on the bed smiled gratefully up at her. She smiled back.

"No problem. You should heal quickly now."

"I sure as hell hope so."

She buttoned up her jacket and rubbing her eyes, walked out the door, bumping into someone.

"Sor – " She let the word trail.

"Mina," Biggs said curtly. He handed the bags of blood he held in his hands and gave them to the nurse. "I got as much as I could from everyone who wasn't hurt."

"Thanks," the woman said, taking them and proceeding to transfuse other transgenics.

"You okay?" Mina asked, motioning to his shoulder. It was bandaged up and a red tint had formed on the white cloth.

"Yeah, it's not deep," he responded. He walked out without saying anything else and Mina jogged to catch up to him.

"Where's Jay?" he asked.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully.

"Aren't you worried about him? Your honey might've gotten hurt."

"Jay can take care of himself. Right now, I'm worried about that shoulder." She reached out to touch it but he jerked away from her grasp.

"What's with you!" she demanded angrily. Her body began to heat up with rage. "Do you think this is easy for me? I understand that you're angry. I get that, okay, I do? But do you know how hard it is to care about a person so much and then get them ripped away from your life, only to finally get them back after you've started caring about someone else? Do you know how guilty I feel? I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I lead you on and dragged you along, and I'm sorry that I couldn't be straight with you from the start. After losing Jay, I was scared to care about anyone else in case I lost them too. But damn it, I care about you, and when I ask you about your damn shoulder, you can give me a damn answer without being so damn cold!"

Biggs stared at her, watching her chest heave as she tried to regain her breath after her explosion. Then his eyes twinkled, and he grinned slightly.

"Is it considered proper English to use the word 'damn' so many times in a sentence? I think you created some kind of record. And the part about – "

She never gave him a chance to finish his sentence. One minute she was standing in front of him, the next, she was on him, arms wrapped around his neck, their lips fused together in a passionate kiss. After taking a moment to overcome his surprise, he responded eagerly to her, putting a hand around her to draw her body in closer so that he could kiss her more fully. Their tongues met and battled as though trying to win an argument with the other, their hands leaving each other's skin hot and tingling. Someone whistled down the hall, advising them of their audience, and pushing open the closest door near them and finding the room to be empty, they tumbled in, hands and lips going everywhere. Mina pushed Biggs down on a bed and got on top of him, breathing heavily as she kissed his chest.

"You women sure have mood swings at the oddest times," Biggs commented hoarsely. She never responded.

Everything that was going on faded away in her mind, all her problems with Jay and the Coming, and the knowledge that she was one of the '09ers. Mina couldn't even think. She didn't fight it anymore. All she knew was that Biggs was kissing her and her body responded.

She let it.

* * *

"Lie down, fool, unless you want me to kick your pasty white ass myself and tie you to the bed." 

Sketchy looked up at Original Cindy, sweat beading his forehead. He offered a light smile. "Now there's an interesting idea."

Seeing him in his sickly state made her heart go out to him. Even though he was an idiot, he was Sketchy, one of her best friends. And nothing would ever change that.

"You just rest and let Original Cindy take care of you, aiight?" She handed him a cup of tea, which he spat out in revulsion after tasting it.

"You don't seriously expect me to drink this?"

"I know it tastes bad, wigger, but it works, trust me. My mama used to make it for me when I was little, whenever I got a cold. She said, 'Cindy baby, what makes you better ain't always gonna taste good.'" She paused. "Truth is, in this downtrodden city, nothin' tastes good, but that's besides the point."

"How come you're not sick?" Sketchy reluctantly took another sip of the tea.

"Max's friend helped me out, but I don't know where he's at now." She took Sketchy's pale hand and warmed it up with her own.

"You're gonna be aiight, boo. Max would never let us down."

* * *

"How many?" Jondy asked, loading a gun. 

"10 dead in America, 17 in Africa, 7 in Europe and Asia and 4 in Australia," Eva answered, watching the statistics flash across the tv screen. "There are thousands who are deathly ill. The hospitals are overflowing. They can't handle that many patients, and half of the staff are sick themselves."

"Things aren't looking good." Jondy put the gun down and started to load another one. "Any word from Sandeman?"

"He says that the duplication went faster than he expected so his people are flying the antidote all over the world right now."

"So it's over," Jondy stated.

"It's far from over. Max… she'll still have to do the ritual." She forced the last words out, and Jondy's eyes flashed angrily.

"We can't let Max do this."

"We have to." Eva sighed. "Do you think I want anything to happen to Max? I love her just as much as you do."

"Then she shouldn't have to do this! We can't just take this crap lying down! She's our sister, Eva."

"It's Max's decision, and we know what she chose. We have to respect that," Eva said.

"Like hell we do," Jondy retorted. "We can just… I don't know, tie her up until tomorrow, and then it'll be too late."

"And what about the billions of people who are going to die?" Eva pulled her eyes away from the news long enough to stare at her sister. "We're not monsters, Dee. And maybe by saving them, we'll finally be accepted." Her eyes misted over. "I don't want to lose Max either, but what she says goes. And we both know that she's not going to change her mind."

"I know," Jondy answered sadly. She strapped the guns to her waistband. "I just wish the apocalyptic stuff would come with a manual."

"I don't think 'How to Prevent an Apocalypse' comes out until February," Eva said, cracking a wan smile. Jondy's eyes widened in alarm as she glanced at the security cameras.

"What about 'How to Get Crazy Psychos Off Your Case', because that would come in handy right about now." She gripped her guns and Eva grabbed some knives off the table.

"Ring the alarm," Eva ordered, and Jondy pushed the button that activated the alarm system Dix had put in a couple weeks before. Then she grabbed a headset and put it on.

"Time to get this party started."

* * *

"What's going on?" Max asked, looking up from the book Dix had given her as Alec ran into the room. She saw him hastily put away his cell phone. "Who were you talking to?" 

"Nobody," he said quickly. He nodded at the book. "That the ritual?"

She looked down at the page she had folded over. "Yeah," she said morosely. Alec came over and scanned the page. Then his eyes caught sight of a pendant lying next to the book.

"What's this?" he asked, picking it up.

"Dix said that I had to wear it during the ritual," she answered. "My siblings also have to be there."

"Your siblings?" He looked at her in surprise. "Why?"

"Remember when Lydecker said that they all had a part in the Coming? Apparently the Ancient Minoans believed in unity, so during all their rituals, their tribe was present and they mixed their blood together." Max rolled her eyes. "Go figure. I was imagining some weird dance around a fire." She laughed weakly and he wrapped his arms around her neck.

"So all you have to do is read the ritual with the necklace on and mix your blood with your siblings'?" Alec asked.

Max looked at him strangely. "Yeah," she said slowly.

He brought her closer and kissed her, long and fully on the lips, pulling away only when they needed to come up for air. She looked at his beautiful face, etching it into her mind, not knowing that he was doing the exact same thing.

Alec's eyes glazed over, but he didn't let a tear fall. He was a soldier, and he needed to feel like one at the moment. He caressed her face with his hand.

"I love you Max." His hand curled around her neck and he pressed down slightly. She frowned at him.

"Alec, what are you doing?"

"Max, I'm so sorry." He applied more pressure and she winced in pain, trying to pull herself out of his grasp.

"Alec, stop it!"

He pressed harder, looking into her confused eyes and hating himself for not being able to tell her why he was doing what he was.

"I love you," he repeated. He pressed harder, and a moment later she sank in his arms, unconscious. Pulling a pair of handcuffs out of the back of his jeans, he cuffed her to a pipe in the bathroom, kissed her lips again and then locked the door.

He looked at two X5s standing outside of her room.

"Under no circumstances does anyone go in, and she doesn't come out, understand?" Alec said firmly.

"Yes, Sir," they responded.

"I mean it."

"Yes, Sir."

Pendant dangling from his neck and book under his arm, Alec set off to find Max's siblings.

_So this is it. This is the last night I'll ever see._

He had no time to get emotional. Time was running out. He had to get to the Space Needle, where Sandeman had told him to go to do the ritual. It was just like the old days, when he had had a mission to accomplish. He needed to get his head in the game.

494 was back.

* * *

A/N: I hope you guys like this chapter. 1 or 2 chapters left. Please review and give me feedback. Did you feel like things were happening too fast? I know this isn't my best chapter, but I really wanted to get something out because I know it's been a really long time since I updated. Hope you liked this and how things are concluding! ­– angelofdarkness78 


	33. New Beginnings

A/N: Okay guys. Here it is. The final chapter. I can't believe I actually finished this story. :p Well, I hope you like it!!!

* * *

_Previously…_

_He had no time to get emotional. Time was running out. He had to get to the Space Needle, where Sandeman had told him to go to do the ritual. It was just like the old days, when he had had a mission to accomplish. He needed to get his head in the game._

_494 was back._

* * *

Her mind was foggy, shapes slowly starting to take form in front of her flickering eyelids. She registered a dull throbbing at the back of her neck as well as a terrifying need to wake up. Something was wrong, that much she knew. Fighting her dizziness, she forced her eyes open, shutting them quickly as she was momentarily blinded by the light in the room she was in. A second later, she opened her eyes again and they adjusted to the brightness as she took in her surroundings.

_I'm in the bathroom, _she realized. _What am I doing here?_

She tried to get up, stopping when she felt cold metal tugging at her right wrist. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to remember who had put her there.

"_I love you Max." His hand curled around her neck and he pressed down slightly. She frowned at him._

"_Alec, what are you doing?"_

"_Max, I'm so sorry." He applied more pressure and she winced in pain, trying to pull herself out of his grasp. _

"_Alec, stop it!"_

Her eyes flared in anger. _How dare he? That bastard. How dare he knock me out like that and leave me here! Doesn't he understand what he's done? It wasn't his decision to make!_

Straining her neck to peek through the window above, she judged she had been unconscious for a little less than an hour by the darkness outside. Her hands shook as she caught sight of something else.

_Familiars._

Hundreds of Familiars fought the transgenics outside on the grounds. She scanned the field, looking for her siblings or Alec. She frowned when she couldn't find any of them among the other transgenics.

_Where did they – _

Max froze as something clicked into place.

"_So all you have to do is read the ritual with the necklace on and mix your blood with your siblings'?" _

_Why had Alec been so curious?_

She angrily dug her nails into her palm. _How could I have been so stupid! I told him exactly how to do the ritual! And now the idiot's gone to do it himself. He's going to sacrifice himself for nothing, because it's never going to work if he does it. He's not the One!_

She stared at the cuff attached to her wrist, her lips curving into a small smile as she thought of what Alec would probably say if he was in her situation.

_I wonder where Maxie got the cuffs? Kinky, kinky._

Her heart warmed as she remembered the way she had imprinted his face in her mind only a short time ago. She remembered his grin, and his twinkling hazel eyes, and then cold fear took the place of her dissipating anger.

_I can't lose him. I can't._

Fueled by her fear, she yanked hard at the cuff, wincing as all it was doing was injuring her wrist. Ignoring the pain, she took her other hand and pressed as hard as she could on the metal, hoping to snap it in half. She used as much force as she could muster, but the cuff still didn't give. She slammed it in frustration, leaning against the bathtub to rest before she tried again.

She breathed out slowly in an effort to calm herself down, but her breath hitched as her enhanced ears caught quiet footsteps coming down the hall towards her room. Seconds later, she heard strangled cries coming from outside her door.

_Alec must have put guards on my door to make sure that I couldn't get out._

She heard the muffled sound of bodies crumpling to the floor, and in desperation she tried to snap the cuff, to no avail. She heard someone open the door to her room, and her mind frantically ran through a mental list of people that she had not seen outside. The footsteps came closer to her bathroom door, stopped, and then Max watched as the knob turned. The door swung open and she looked at the devil himself.

"There you are, 452."

Ames White.

* * *

"I don't get it," Zane breathed, huffing a bit as they ran up the stairs to the top of the Space Needle. "Why is it that you can do the ritual?"

"Looks like you're a little out of shape, little brother," Tinga commented, smirking as she ran alongside him easily. He glared at her, and pumped his legs to go faster. He looked at Alec for an answer to his question.

Alec didn't look at him, or even show signs that he had heard. His eyes were focused on the top of the stairs, his goal.

_Complete the objective. Do the ritual. Nothing else matters but the objective._

"Alec!" Jondy looked him over with a concerned glance, noticing the grim determination in his eyes. "Alec?" she asked again, tentatively.

He didn't respond. His eyes stared forward, eerily reminding her of the blank look the soldiers used to have back at Manticore.

_Complete the objective. Have to save… Max. Have to keep Max safe._

Jondy shrugged to the others, the worry evident on her face, then looked up and found that they were nearing the top. She waved her hands to her siblings, signaling them to hurry up, and then they were at the door. Alec kicked it open but froze when he noticed that they weren't alone.

A middle-aged man stood before them, with silvery hair framing a harsh face. His eyes were as cold as ice, and though he wasn't of great height, his body was compact and strong. Behind him stood a dozen Familiars.

"You're not the one I'm looking for," he said coldly, looking at Alec. "Where's the girl?"

Alec didn't respond, but he just stood there guardedly, assessing his opponent.

_Rule C: 43 in Tactics: Never go into battle without knowing what you're up against._

"Answer me transgenic filth!"

The man moved towards Alec and as quick as lightning, Alec grabbed his arm and threw him across the room like a rag doll. The action sent the other Familiars into a fury, throwing themselves at the other transgenics. Alec moved without hesitation snapping a Familiar's neck before he had the chance to reach him. His body was tensed as he moved toward another Familiar. He let himself go and became the predator, his need to save Max stimulating him. His mind went blank, and he relied on instinct while he fought.

A voice penetrated his mind and he searched to find the owner of the voice. It was Eva.

"Alec!" she yelled, ducking a blow from the Familiar she was fighting. "Zack!"

He turned around to see Zack losing the fight against his opponent, blood smeared across his face. He moved toward the blonde man.

"He's not strong enough yet!" Eva called. "He doesn't remember how to fight – " She choked on the last word, and her hands trembled as they made their way to her stomach. A blade protruded from her belly, and the Familiar grinned evilly at her, having taken the opportunity while she was distracted. Her knees buckled and she fell onto the ground, unmoving.

"Eva!" Jondy yelled. Her green eyes narrowed in anger, she feigned a punch to the left and while the Familiar ducked, she kicked out at his jaw, smiling satisfactorily when she heard a crack. Feeling no pain, the Familiar got up, but she had already flipped behind him and snapped his neck easily. She stood still for a moment, eyeing the blood on her hands, and then ran to her fallen sister. She cradled Eva in her arms, sighing in relief as she felt a weak pulse at her throat. Looking up, she saw Zack, badly beaten, shielding his head with his arms in anticipation of the blow about to come. An arm descended but stopped about an inch from his face. Alec twisted the man's arm, breaking it, and punched him hard enough to knock him out. He then offered a hand to Zack, who gratefully accepted it.

"We have to start the ritual _now_," Alec said. Zack nodded.

"So, you're the One." The leader, the man who had first approached them, stepped menacingly towards Alec. "All this time, we thought it was the girl." His eyes fell on the pendant that hung from Alec's neck. "You're not going to win, you know. The world belongs to us. We will finally get what we deserve! The strong shall inherit the earth and – "

His body crumpled to the floor and Ben stood behind him. "Yeah, yeah, we got it. Now be a good boy, and shut up." He kicked the man's head and it lolled to the side.

Seeing that all the Familiars were either dead or unconscious, Alec sat down cross-legged on the floor, opening the book with the ritual.

"_Remember when Lydecker said that they all had a part in the Coming? Apparently the Ancient Minoans believed in unity, so during all their rituals, their tribe was present and they mixed their blood together."_

Remembering Max's words, he held out the pendant. "I need you to put some of your blood on here," he ordered. Adhering to his command, they all swiped some blood from their wounds and touched their blood-stained hands to the pendant. Jondy shakily withdrew the knife from Eva's stomach, and wiped some of the blood from the blade onto the pendant. She checked her sister's pulse again. It was weaker now, but still there.

"What now?" Ben asked. He looked uncertainly from the book to his clone, who seemed to be coming back to reality. Alec no longer looked like the ruthless soldier he had been back at Manticore and only moments ago, but like a lost man who was giving up everything.

_This is it. Max will be okay. She'll be safe now. All I have to do is the ritual and then… the sacrifice. But she'll be safe. And that's what matters. I won't lose her._

He looked at the faces surrounding him, staring at him nervously. _They'll protect her when I'm gone._

"So, this is fun. My first Wicca party," he joked. "Think that you guys can do a spell to bring me back after? Nah, forget it. I'll probably be a zombie and we know how pale their complexions are. I wouldn't be Normal's golden boy anymore."

_I think I'm actually gonna miss this world. A year ago, back at Manticore, I couldn't have cared less about the outside world, much less the people in it. Funny how things change._

Taking a deep breath, he started to read.

* * *

"I'm surprised you're hiding here like a little girl, rather than help your people fight." White crouched low in front of her, a menacing smile starting to form on his lips. "I never really figured you for a coward, but then again, I'm not surprised. You didn't even have the balls to do that ritual. I guess I should be thanking you for that. You've made life easier for me."

"You just love to hear yourself speak, don't you?" Max watched as he stood from his crouched position.

"It's going to be wonderful, you know? A brand new world to wake up to tomorrow. The start of a new generation, a new beginning. We'll finally get what should have been ours from the start."

"And the stupid ordinaries deserve to die, blah, blah, blah…" Max mocked. "Is that right?"

"You don't understand, 452. The world should be controlled by the strong. The ordinaries, as you call them, aren't capable of doing that. As much as I hate to say it, even your kind would do a better job of keeping things together. Look outside, 452. Look at the filth and the state of things. Look at the dilapidated buildings, and the poverty. These people should be thanking us for saving them from this hell."

"And of course, you think 'killing them' is 'saving them'," Max said. "You're more twisted than I thought."

"He never used to be," a frail voice interrupted. "It's my fault that he's the way he is."

White's body grew taut, and with clenched fists he faced the owner of the voice. Sandeman looked at his son sadly, the old man clutching the frame of the door for support.

"Get out," White growled.

"Uh hey, in case you forgot, it's kinda _my_ room," Max remarked. "I think I get the right to kick someone out." Despite her smart-ass comments, she still felt the pressing urge to go find Alec. She had to stop him before he made a huge mistake. Time was running out, and she had no idea how far along in the ritual he had already gotten.

"Ames, stop this insanity. It's my fault that you're this way, I know that. I should have gotten you away from them. I'm sorry son; I shouldn't have left you there. But I had to save C.J."

"That's a lie!" White shouted, his attention now on his father. Max took the distraction to continue working on the cuff, cursing its durability.

_Alec must have gotten the strongest one he could find._

"You left because of her! It was always about her! About your 'special one'," White mocked. "You cared more about that stupid filth," he shouted, pointing at Max, "than your own son!"

There it was. Out in the open. He had said it.

"You know what, old man?" He pulled out a gun and pointed it at Max. "Say goodbye to your precious special one."

Max pressed her fingers down on the cuff and heard it snap. Finally liberated, she blurred forward and knocked the gun out of his hand. Blinded with rage, White struck the side of her head with an enormous force, knocking her down. She struggled to get up in the small space, but managed to sweep his feet out from under him and flip to a standing position.

"I'm going to kill you," he muttered.

"Well, that's original," she answered. She blocked his arm as he attempted to punch her, but fell to the ground as his other arm came up and dragged her down. Max hissed in pain as her head hit the bathtub, and they struggled on the floor, neither of them able to get the upper hand.

"I'm going to destroy you," White grunted. His hands closed over her throat, cutting off her air supply. She clawed at his hands, trying to get him to loosen his grip. She started to choke, and she kicked her legs out in an effort to get him off of her. He ignored her and continued to strangle her. Max was starting to lose consciousness when the weight was suddenly lifted off of her.

She sat up, massaging her throat, and stared at the clean hole through White's head. His eyes were still open and even in death he didn't lose his icy glare.

"I, I…" Sandeman lay on the floor, the force of the shot throwing him backwards. The gun White had dropped dangled from his fingers, and tears came to the old man's eyes. "My son." He crawled to White and held his body. "My son."

Max watched the scene sadly for a moment before running off. As much as she would have liked to comfort the old man, Alec was more important. She had to find him.

_And then I'll kick his ass._

* * *

"Take cover!" Mina shouted. Ducking behind one of the Familiar's cars, she signaled to some other transgenics. She held up three fingers, then two, then one, counting down. When she nodded to them, they pulled the tab on a handful of grenades and threw them towards the Familiars coming their way. She plugged her ears, and a second later she heard the sounds of explosions.

"I think that's the last of them," Biggs shouted. He stepped out from behind the car and nodded. "Yup, they're – "

A Familiar's arms wrapped around his neck and Mina rushed forward to help him.

"Get." Punch. "Your hands." Kick. "Off." Left uppercut. "My boyfriend!"

The Familiar crumpled to the ground.

"Oh, so I'm your boyfriend now?" he asked her playfully.

Mina shrugged. "Just wanted to hear how that sounds out loud. I kinda like it."

"Oh, do you?" Biggs teased. He wrapped his arms around her waist and was about to kiss her when he caught sight of someone behind her. She let go and stared at Jay, watching them from across the grounds. Using her enhanced eyesight, she could see a myriad of emotions flitting across his face. Surprise, hurt and finally acceptance shone in his eyes. He knew she saw him. She watched his eyes go from her to Biggs and back again, and he gave her a little smile and a nod.

She released a sigh of relief. Jay wouldn't make things complicated, she knew that much. It wasn't his way. In the past, he had respected her decisions whatever they were and went along with them.

_Maybe in time, he can be the brother he had been to me again._

She smiled to herself and then to Biggs, who was watching her carefully. It was finally time for her to let go of the past and move on with the future. She looked at the full moon, illuminating the sky beautifully. It almost seemed like a normal night, despite the dead bodies on the ground. She smirked.

_Fights and bodies? I guess that's as normal as it gets for us._

* * *

"Cantare sli'ohar morches'lam kar'os," Alec chanted. The pendant felt warm against his skin, and he felt it burn hotter with every word he spoke. He almost wanted to stop the ritual, to be selfish as he once had been and spend his life with Max, the ordinaries be damned, but he knew he would never be able to live with the billions of lives lost. Besides, if he didn't do it he knew Max would, and that was something he would never allow to happen. A stray thought at the back of his mind told him that she was probably awake by now, and no doubt pissed. He imagined the furious look on her face and longed to be there to kiss her frown away.

_She'd probably bite my head off if I tried, _he thought reminiscently.

"Tra'chin kolar sa'chor."

_Something's not right._

"Portaysis lava'l shune'tra."

There. A shadow behind Ben. One of the Familiars had come to. Alarm shot through his body and he sprang forward, pushing Ben out of the way. The knife, ornately decorated, caught the moonlight for a second. The blade shimmered dazzlingly, before it plunged into the right side of his chest.

Flames of pain burned through his body. He couldn't breathe, couldn't finish the ritual. Blood seeped out from the corner of his mouth and as he lay on the cold floor, he felt the movements of the other X5s and their shouts. He was dimly aware of someone kneeling beside him, but couldn't turn his head to see who it was. More shouting. People screaming his name.

And then someone's hands were caressing his face. He didn't have to see who it was. He knew by her touch, and her scent. She gently lifted his head into her lap.

"You idiot. Why do you always have to go and screw everything up?"

Though the words were sharp, he sensed no malice behind them, only fear.

"He didn't finish the ritual," someone said.

"It was all for nothing."

"It wouldn't have worked anyway. He's not the One." Max's voice.

"Yes, it would have. His blood is just like yours. It's immune to the toxin. Sandeman created him as an out for you." Ben.

Everything was getting darker. It was getting harder and harder for him to see.

_Except usually I can see in the dark. I guess the whole cat sight thing doesn't apply when you're dying._

"What if I finished it?" That was Max again. Or was it? He could barely distinguish their voices now.

"What are you talking about?" Jondy? Tinga? He couldn't tell.

"To finish the ritual, we have to have a sacrifice. _One_ sacrifice. Alec doesn't have to die. We can do it together."

_No, _he wanted to yell. _No._ His lips strained to form the one word, but no sound came out.

"He's in pretty bad shape, Max. And what if it doesn't work?"

"It will work," she said determinedly. "It has to. I'm not going to just let him go. If we both – I don't know, half die or something, maybe that'll do the trick."

"Max, no!"

_No, _he shouted, the words never making it past his mouth. _No, Max. Max, please._

He felt the knife being eased from his chest, the movement making him want to scream in pain.

_Maxie…_

Without even thinking about it, Max put the knife to her wrists and slit them, the knife clattering to the floor as soon as she had done it. Blood trickled down her arms and she fell forward onto Alec's body, her wrist coming into contact with the pendant. Her blood dripped onto it, staining the necklace red.

Alec could feel the tension in the air. They all held their breaths, waiting for something to happen. When it seemed as if they couldn't wait any longer, the pendant started to glow. A brilliant white light shot into the air from it, illuminating the sky so that it seemed like it was daylight. The world stayed like that for a moment, bathed in the iridescent light, and then a blink later, it was nighttime again.

Max's siblings shot into action, two of them picking Max and Alec up gently, blurring down the stairs to get to the car. Zane placed Alec down as comfortably as he could in the back while Zack placed Max beside him. As fast as he could, Ben turned on the engine and raced out of there.

"Alec?" Max's voice was weak. Her shaking fingers searched for his own, which were cold and clammy. She held them as tightly as she could.

_I love you too, Maxie._

"I should have named you Dick."

With that, they surrendered to darkness' sweet embrace.

* * *

It was a week later. Terminal City's occupants were bustling about as usual, going this way and that trying to get their own personal jobs done.

"Who the hell stole my smokes?" Mole shouted. He stood opening and slamming drawers in HQ with his rifle slung over one shoulder. "Which bastard stole my cigars!"

Sitting in front of his computer as usual, Dix chuckled to himself. He opened a box to his left containing computer disks and rifled through them. At the very back were about a dozen Cuban cigars.

"Gee, I don't know Mole. Have you asked that guy from the Arctic Division? He seemed pretty pissed a couple of days ago when you guys were arguing about the fridge and heat lamps."

"That asshole," he muttered, off in search of the other transgenic.

"Hi!" Joshua bounced into the room. "Come! Come see! We put up the flag!"

Dix and the other transgenics got up and followed the dog man up onto the rooftop of Terminal City. Dozens of transgenics were already there, watching as an anomaly, a transgenic from the Desert division, an X5 and a Psy Ops soldier, secured a flag into place. It was something that Joshua had painted in the last few days, feeling that they needed something to represent themselves to the outside world. They had laid their dead to rest a couple days before in the Terminal City grounds. It wasn't a terribly organized or lavish affair. They didn't have any stupid sermon or proper caskets, but the leaders of each division came forward to say a few words about each fallen soldier, and that was enough for them.

Most of the wounded had recovered almost fully by now, Eva, Max and Alec among them. They stood together with their family around them, Eva having to lean against the railing of the rooftop for support. Her stomach was bandaged and recovering nicely, but she still had trouble walking around.

Max had sent Logan home after he was completely cured from his illness. They had a new understanding. He knew who she had chosen to be with, and he finally respected that. She was happy that he valued their friendship enough to let her go.

Mina stood beside Max with Biggs beside her, and beside him was Jay. The two men were wary around each other, but for the time being that was alright. Mina knew they were never going to be the best of friends, but she was happy that she had the two most important men still in her life.

Zack stood strong beside Jack, his blue eyes focused on the flag. More and more of his memory had been coming back to him by day, and now he remembered almost everything from his past, the good and the bad. Maybe he wasn't as strong as he used to be, but he was still their rock as always.

"Do you like it Father?" Joshua asked Sandeman eagerly. The old man, seeming to have gotten even older in the past week, patted the dog-man's head softly.

"It's very good, Joshua."

The flag flapped around in the wind, advertising to the outside world their freak nation. They weren't going to worry about another battle, this time with the ordinaries. That could be dealt with tomorrow. And already, the ordinaries were different. Walking through the streets in Seattle, they no longer stopped to yell obscenities at the fence of Terminal City, or to set up flaming Xs. They were far from accepting them, but at least for now, they were tolerant.

"Do you think we should tell them?" Dix asked, eyeing Max and Alec.

"Not right now. Let them be with their family. Besides, they'll find out in time."

He looked at the deformed transgenic beside him, and then the other ones all around. The people he had created.

_Ames was right about one thing, _he thought. _It is a new world. With new friends…_

He looked at a Psy Ops soldier laughing happily with an Aquatic Division soldier.

_New loves…_

He looked at Mina and Biggs, and then to Seth and Wylie. Jondy was leaning against Zane, her fiery red hair blowing in the wind.

_And a new generation._

He watched Max and Alec. Alec had his arms wrapped around her waist, his hand unconsciously massaging her belly. Her hand was over his, also resting on her stomach.

Sandeman smiled to himself and looked to the sky. The sun shined down on his wrinkly paper-thin skin.

_It truly is a new beginning for us all._

* * *

A/N: So, there it is. I hope you guys liked this story! I was thinking about doing another MA story, this one a Supernatural crossover, but I wasn't sure. What do you think? I also had another idea for an MA story set in season one. Well, feedback is always appreciated:)

– angelofdarkness78


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